Student suicide spike prompts KSCPCR to mull action against non-compliant schools

Hubballi: A spate of student suicides has alarmed parents and school authorities, with five to six cases reported in the past two weeks.Sources said a class 10 student died by suicide by hanging himself in the hostel of Navodaya Residential School in Narayanpur village, Basavakalyan taluk, Bidar. Another class 10 student died by suicide after falling from the third floor of a building at DVS School in Bharamasagara, Chitradurga. A class 9 student died by hanging himself behind a govt high school in Vadagera town. In another incident, a student died after jumping into a well in Kalaburagi. Officials say the rise in suicides has become a major challenge.
The Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) is considering action against schools that have not implemented the Karnataka State Child Protection Policy, 2016 (amended 2023).Sources said only 30–40% of schools and hostels have implemented the policy. Many, including residential institutions, "did not bother to implement this policy for the safety of students," said a source.KSCPCR chairman Shashidhar Kosambe told TOI that the commission conducted a survey in six selected districts six months ago to study social-media addiction among students aged 8–18.It was found that 99% of students aged 15–18 were addicted to Instagram, 43% faced abuse due to social media, 42% were blackmailed, 16% shared nude pictures with unknown persons and 6% met unknown persons online"Many children are facing a lot of problems due to their addiction to social media and mobile phones," he said.Kosambe said social-media addiction is weakening children's minds, reducing their ability to face challenges and pushing them into depression. He said the KSCPP is designed to support mentally weak or depressed students.The policy mandates regular meetings with affected students, parent meetings, counselling sessions, and monitoring of student behaviour. "However, many schools are not conducting these activities," he said. Inspections showed about 60% of schools failed to implement the policy. "We will take action if schools fail to implement this policy in the days to come," he added.He said the commission will soon hold a state-level workshop in Bengaluru with representatives from the education department, schools and NGOs to discuss student suicides and measures to curb them. He also urged stakeholders to use the Telemanasa helpline (14416 or 1800-89-14416).