HPS Seeks to Address Student Suicides By Raising Awareness, Fundraising

HYDERABAD: To curb the number of student suicides, which has been on the rise, Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet, along with IC3 Institute, a volunteer-based organisation, will organise a unique blindfold concert on August 24 to raise funds for aiding children to achieve their potential and find purpose in life, according to school officials.

“The surge in student suicides in India is a distressing reminder of our young minds’ emotional struggles. Schools must effectively address this crisis, focusing on academic excellence and nurturing emotional resilience and well-being,” the school said.

At the curtain raiser event on Thursday, the school initiated a dialogue on how career counselling can lessen the risk of student suicides.

The concert will see musical genius and piano virtuoso Kalaimamani Dr Anil Srinivasan and others perform. In this concert, musicians will be blindfolded, as will the audience, throughout the performance.

Movie star Lakshmi Manchu, who attended the curtain raiser event on Thursday, interacted with students and shared her experiences to motivate them.

Lakshmi Manchu said, “You can succeed only if you are willing to fail. Sharing your problems and your issues is a sign of strength.”

The interaction on the day opened with students being informed that over 13,000 student suicides were reported in 2021 alone, as per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data. The report showed that in 2021, student suicides constituted 8 per cent of total suicides in India, compared to 6.7 per cent for ‘persons engaged in agriculture’.

Students also shared their ideas to deal with negativity and to create an open mindset.

Greeshma, a Class 9 student, said, “My goal of landing in a reputed international institution for higher studies is building up stress for me is. I am not able to properly navigate thoughts as sometimes, it makes me think I am preparing well while at other times, I question if I will succeed. This stresses me more.”

Class 12 student Inaara said that counselling will help as it helps provide the right career choice for a person. “Students who may not fit into the traditional career options will get to know more options. It helps one evaluate their strengths, abilities, and interests. Career counsellors also understand a student's skills, strengths, weaknesses, interests, personality, and other important factors and give appropriate career advice,” Inaara said.

Ganesh Kohil, the founder of IC3, who was also at the event, said: “Students should seek newer career paths, as we are noticing that persons in IT and IT-related sectors are among the major portion of statistics of those who are depressed and attempting suicides.”