When marks determine Life or Death

CHENNAI: Covid-19 turned the world on its head, and made its inhabitants feel restless, frustrated and anxious, to say the least. While adults have several coping mechanisms, the pandemic has wreaked havoc on school-going teenagers in different ways.

One of them is exacerbating the fears of a looming uncertain future, along with the inability to face failure in board exams. After the board exam results were announced recently, it led to a spike in suicide cases among students in Tamil Nadu.

While psychologists say that lockdown worsened the mental health of students, they also stress on the attitude of parents and teachers who keep pushing their wards in the name of ‘toughening them up’.

Intervention from parents

While coddling their wards is not encouraged, parents have to find a health balance between being a disciplinarian and a support system. Though intervention is crucial both at home and in school, the first proverbial step must come from parents.

“At home, parents should understand that it’s healthy when kids talk about academics, but they should also be congnizant of their kid’s strength and weakness. Everyone cannot be a topper, and it shouldn’t be a requirement either,” says Dr Siddhika Ayyer, consultant psychiatrist, Gleneagles Global Health City.

For instance, parents fail to see a future in a newage subject, but children want to pursue it. “This dichotomy in faith and practicality needs to be balanced, as being pressurised into pursuing something they don’t want to study makes them stressed and isolated. Parents must make sure that the child is happy with what they are doing,” adds Dr Ayyer.

She added that lack of sleep or lack of proper food intake can impact their ability to handle their emotions. This can affect their performance during the examination. “Children have different capabilities and parents must not force their faith and opinions on their children. They need guidance but also need to be listened to. Teachers should be more empathetic and should not focus only on students performing well in academics,” she opines.

What can schools do?

The typical indicators teachers can use to identify behavioural issues of their students might not be available during the pandemic due to online classes. Lack of concentration, depression, anxiety and other issues are common due to academic pressure.

“There are diverse ways a child copes with these. Teachers and parents should listen to children, give them the opportunity to reconnect and have one-on-one conversation. They might take time to get back to the routine,” says Dr Sujatha Velmurugan, consultant psychiatrist, Kauvery Hospital.

Talking about certain warning signs of change in behaviour and personality, Dr Sujatha says that teachers should identify children who require additional support. “The school-based mental health care support is important and there should be a plan of action to connect with effective mental health support services,” she adds.

Pandemic, a trigger for students

Mental health experts say that there has been a drastic increase in suicides and other mental health issues among students post COVID-19.

“There were many students who could not access gadgets for attending classes, while others could not attend online schools or study actively because of online classes,” says Dr Arsheeya Taj, psychiatrist, MGM Healthcare.

Plus, the interaction with teachers and fellow students had reduced. “Interaction with peers was an excellent coping mechanism for students, which disappeared for almost 2 years. So many students did not know if they have learnt enough or doing enough or even studying the right material,” she adds.

Added to this were indirect factors such as the illness or death of friends and/or family members, financial burden of many parents who lost their jobs/businesses, and the sudden move to another city where everything and everyone is new — all of this has worsened the overall well-being of children.

“Many have found it difficult to go back to school. There are warning signs that people should look out for – kids can stop talking, be scared or lock themselves up,” points out Dr Taj.

Counselling, follow up require

Meanwhile, officials with the 104-health advice emergency helpline say that all students who appeared for Class 10 and 12 board exams were given counselling and vulnerable students were identified.

“We identified vulnerable students who required follow-up care. Some were worried about their admissions to higher classes and courses they can opt for based on the results. The Amma helpline and 104-helpline numbers combined took thousands of calls from students and parents, and provided them with follow up counselling,” elaborates Selva Kumar, state head of operations, GVK EMRI.