If one has to wonder why so many student suicide cases are taking place in the country, they must look at the kind of environment the students are studying in. Long and continuous hours of study, limited socialising, no time for recreational activities, and immense pressure from families and peers – this is what life looks like for most aspirants of IIT-JEE, NEET, UPSC and other competitive exams aspirants.
UPSC is one of the toughest exams in the world and very few out of lakhs of candidates qualify for the exam which has many rounds. However, many parents, instead of being supportive and making things easier for their kids, create such an environment of pressure around them that the kids feel as though their life is going to end if they do not qualify for the exam. Here’s an example.
A video has gone viral on social media which was taken during the day of the UPSC Prelims exam. The candidate, a girl, was probably late by a few minutes in arriving at the exam centre. By the time she arrived, the gates were closed and she was denied entry. No matter how heartless it seems, the authorities must follow protocol and rules are the same for everybody.
Because their daughter was denied entry, the mother fainted and the father began to wail and hurled curses at the authorities. Instead of consoling the girl, who missed her exam despite immense preparation, it was the parents who had to be consoled by their daughter.
The girl kept on telling her dad that it was not a big deal as she could take the exam the next year again, but the father kept crying and saying how “their” year was wasted. The mother, on the other hand, refused to get up from the road.
“Mummy ek exam hi toh hai,” the daughter kept saying.
Have a look at the video here:
Heartbreaking video.💔🥲
Condition of Parents who came along with their daughter for the UPSC Prelims exam today, as their daughter was not allowed for being late. Exam starts at 9: 30 am, and they were at the gate at 9 am but were not allowed in by the principal of S.D. Adarsh… pic.twitter.com/2yZuZlSqMZ— Sakshi (@333maheshwariii) June 16, 2024
While there were many who slammed the authorities for not being sympathetic towards the family, there were others who stressed the importance of arriving for exams on time and following the rules to the T. However, plenty of people criticised the parents for their inconsiderate behaviour. They should have been responsible parents and supported the daughter, instead of needing parenting themselves.
The daughter, on the other hand, was the stronger and more sensible one. Here’s how people reacted to the video:
I don’t feel sorry for the over acting mum. The kid is the victim here and, like most kids in the country, she had to parent a parent.
These idiots want to live through their kids. I know that sounds harsh, but someone should slap some sense into them. https://t.co/e1ygY91aN2
— Matty (@Matty839) June 18, 2024
The parents need to be strong. Putting your kid in such a spot is not cool man. Everyone needs to learn how to control/regulate their emotions. At the end of the day, it was just an exam. Just don’t be a parent if you are not ready 👍 https://t.co/jnL8rZ6RhL
— deepshi (@deepshi_af) June 18, 2024
desi parents are the absolute worst, the only reason so many of us are still hesitant to publicly call out their ever controlling, demanding nature is bc of the false belief ingrained in our minds since childhood to not question parents & people elder to us, it’s generational. https://t.co/HYHYP2KqNH
— h. (@jimimflower) June 17, 2024
Omggggg!! Imagine the pressure that girl might have to pass the exam if this is her parents’ reaction 😭 thank God my parents are not like that🧿🧿I’ve given NET exam two times but could not clear 🙁 but they never behaved this way they just encouraged me to do better next time🫶🏽 https://t.co/wE3FUfYPAe
— Baby John (@varunslawyer) June 18, 2024
Parents like these are responsible for too many suic!des of students, instead of consoling their daughter they’re trying to emotional blackmail the authorities
All this can be avoided by just starting from home early and what is this madness for UPSC 😐😐😐 https://t.co/MBkH9GDM1b— 𝑴𝒔 𝑩𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒘𝒂𝒋🌼 (@junnu_8) June 17, 2024
Can’t imagine the immeasurable pressure they have put on that poor girl because of their own high rocketed expectations.
Also, reach on time. You can’t blame the authorities for following the basic guidelines. https://t.co/yGf7oYWQuk— Shanaya 🍂 (@TweetMePlis) June 17, 2024
“papa hum aagli bar me kardenge, aisa kuchh nahi hai” THAT SHOULD BE THE PARENTS ENCOURAGING THEIR KIDS NOT THE OTHE WAY AROUND?! https://t.co/gm3qTi1gPf
— cat valentine 🇵🇸 (@ptylilvixen) June 18, 2024
Just imagine the amount of pressure this girl will go through after this. She is being more practical than her parents.
“Mumy ek exam hi toh hai.” What a brave girl. https://t.co/O4QlrkjVbu— Aaraynsh (@aaraynsh) June 17, 2024
The unrealistic pressure on our youth for education is the worst thing.
The parents need to be in jail for this behaviour and unloading this trauma on their daughter.
Absolute dumb people.I took AIIMS exam and my father wanted me to do IAS and it was a big compromise when I… https://t.co/apBUR56f5z
— Seetu Mahajan Kohli (@kohliseetu) June 17, 2024
Why parents are behaving like this…no offense but it’s just exam…what if uska selection nahi hota….esa pressure daloge toh bacche par kyaa effect hoga….like no wonder student s*icide rate is so high in india https://t.co/NMRx3RXPnO
— YZx XYz (@XYZ_YZX_YZX) June 17, 2024
I’ll sound heartless but this is exactly how parental pressure looks like, it isn’t toxic always they attach the emotional aspect to an exam and u start feeling like hurting them if u fail, coz for u it might hv been a test but no now it’s ur sole purpose of life! https://t.co/MIEJmxzsrx
— Nish (@glitter_ray01) June 17, 2024
Indian parents need to stop treating their children like they’re some kind of mutual fund where they’re gonna get a certain amount of return. The kids didn’t ask to take birth and get this kind of melodramatic pressure. https://t.co/LPtnFulvdU
— Balram Vishwakarma | बलराम विश्वकर्मा (@Balram1801) June 17, 2024
What are your views on this incident?