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Wrong Test Score SMS Leads To Student Suicide
Yesterday Mike Masnick posted the story in Techdirt on the teenage Indian girl who committed suicide after receiving an SMS saying (incorrectly) that she had failed her exams, and in reply to this post, one of Techdirt's readers suggested in the comment section, that this was probably just an urban legend (obviously someone who doesn't realize the kind of pressure these students are under). But what is really interesting is Techdirt's reply, by Derek Kerton - with facts from the World Health Organization and his own research and comments: "Over 95,000 Indians killed themselves in 1997, equal to one suicide every six minutes. One in every three was in the 15-29 year age group. [...] India has no national policy or program for suicide prevention and for a population of a billion there are only 3,500 psychiatrists." It turns out that this IS the time of year that Indian students are issued the results from their Class XII exams, which are extremely important for college qualification. For example, I got this quote from an Indian article, "Kanchan Mehndiratta of Civil Lines said her daughter Sonam's result was more important than even her marriage. Reason: 'The result will decide Sonam's career. And if Sonam has a good job, her would-be in laws won't demand too much dowry." Related articles -- Students must double check SMS results -- Wrong SMS leads to suicide |
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