Twenty-one Indian students have ended their lives in reaction to the exam results announced by the Board of Intermediate Education (BIE). This incident occurred over the past week. Khaleejtimes reports that nearly one million students took the exams between February and March and about 350,000 failed.

 

This resulted in many parents, student groups and political parties protesting widely. They believed the bevvy of failed exams was due to an electronic glitch and discrepancies in the results.

 

Unfortunately, some students couldn’t handle the bad news. Khaleejtimes reports that a student named Sirisha, who failed Biology, set herself on fire. She did this at her home in the Narayanpet district on Saturday after her parents went out to the fields.

 

 

Another latest incident is the death of a 19-year-old woman, Akrapu Mithi. Gulf News reports that she hung herself at Naginenipally village in Telangana state. She reportedly went to a private college in nearby Bibinagar town. The nineteen-year-old got depressed after the results were announced on April 18. Apparently, this led to her decision to end her life.

 

A letter from India’s Congress, according to Latestly.com, says:

“Nearly 25 students are reported to have committed suicide due to the faulty results published by the TSBIE. Now, who should be made responsible for the deaths of 30 odd students? And who will compensate the agony caused to thousands of parents?” 

 

 

Fox News reports that parents believe:

“What caused students to commit suicide was an error on the part of the software solutions firm, Globarena Technologies Private Limited, which had been hired by Telangana BIE to develop software for processing admissions, pre-examination and post-examination results.”

 

 

“Why should we pay a fee for the blunders committed by them?” a student told Khaleejtimes.

 

On Thursday, 25th April 2019, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao ordered the recounting and re-verification. Also, he urged students not to commit suicide, adding that failing the tests isn’t the end of life.

 

If you are thinking about ending your life, please contact any of the suicide prevention lifelines below to ask questions, make enquiries and seek help from professionals.

• Lagos suicide hotlines by the Lagos State Government: 08058820777 09030000741
• LUTH Suicide Research and Prevention Initiative (SUPRIN): 09080217555, 09034400009, 08111909909, 07013811143
• Private NGP, Nigerian Suicide Prevention Initiative: 08062106493, 08092106493
• VTG: 08108572839