The Jammu and Kashmir Government has taken a necessary step with regard to preventing students from committing suicides by constituting District Level Monitoring Committees in all districts. This is a positive start and it is likely that in the coming times, the stakeholders will take help of concerned experts in the field to ensure that no life of an innocent should be consumed due to poor handling of the situation.
In this regard, reportedly the General Administration Department has come with the committees that will be headed by the Deputy Commissioner, with the Chief Education Officer, Chief Medical Officer, District Social Welfare Officer and a civil society representative as their members.
Hopefully, this pragmatic step will successfully permeate the rightful message among the student fraternity that they are not alone, their life is valuable, and the government is always available to bail them out of stress, strain or any other apprehension which is bothering them and causing a tendency to take the extreme step. Although by setting up exclusive committees at the district level the government has showcased its concern over the issue but in actuality, it is the parents and the teachers of the students who can gauge the situation in the first place and counsel the young minds to infuse positivity which can prevent children from taking any wrong decision.
For this, it is important to encourage students to talk freely about stress, failure, or emotions without fear of judgment and the sole responsibility of creating such an atmosphere lies on the shoulders of parents and teachers because if they will listen patiently, not dismissing the problems of children as small, irrelevant or temporary, many complications can be avoided. For this, it is necessary that the aforesaid committees should come up with dedicated comprehensive training schedule for the teachers and parents by roping in subject experts to create an environment where every individual coming in the contact of young lot could act as a counselor for them so that their fears, apprehensions and other distracting ideas could be suitably addressed without giving them time to think or make any decision which might prove adverse like consumption of life.
Besides, it is also important to depute trained counsellors in schools and colleges as far as possible adding their sessions in regular time-table. Another important step which might prove helpful is conducting regular mental-health awareness sessions to help students understand stress, anxiety, and depression. The parents on the other hand should stop expecting unrealistic outcomes from their offspring because this also is one of the reasons behind children facing stress, depression and mounting pressure.
In today’s world of cut throat competition, it is necessary that the teachers, parents and other relations should deal with the children with compassion and bonhomie rather than scolding and demanding out of reach results by comparing them with their counterparts.
