THE suicide rate in students has increased in Pakistan during the last few years. Some of the motives that act as contributing factors in provoking students to end their lives are examination stress, fear of failure, verbal and physical abuse by parents, teachers or peers that leads to loneliness, hopelessness and a feeling of worthlessness.

High expectations and increased competition lead to stress, depression and other psychological issues among students today. Pakistan has no official data regarding student suicide. Society overburdens children with its expectations and that can be life-threatening.

Recently, a female student in Lahore committed suicide. She was stressed because of studies and pressure of examination. A student also killed himself after getting 81 per cent marks with which he was not satisfied.

Despite an alarmingly high rate of suicide amongst students in Pakistan, mental health experts and successive governments have not addressed the issue. Thus, to determine the epidemiology of suicide by students in Pakistan, a standard system of recording should be established to help design effective suicide prevention programmes. Psychological services must be available to students in every educational institution.

Areej Jamshed
Lahore

Published in Dawn, February 24th, 2021