Delhi Student Suicide Prompts Education Minister's Call for Mental Health Reforms in Schools

Following the suicide of a Class 10 student at a metro station, Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood has sent a forceful letter to St Columba's School's principal, challenging the institution's emotional safety protocols and calling for immediate reforms.

In his communication, which he wrote "not just as a minister but as a concerned parent," Sood referenced Abraham Lincoln's famous letter to his son's teacher, emphasizing the importance of educating children with "both strength and gentleness" and teaching them to "listen to all men." The minister described the student's death as a "heartbreaking wake-up call" for Delhi's educational framework.

Sood highlighted that academic pressure on students has reached unprecedented levels and urged educational institutions to go beyond implementing numerous rules to instead provide emotional security and be more attentive to students' needs. He stressed that this approach is essential for building student confidence.

The minister advocated for implementing systems to identify student stress and providing teachers with training to understand psychological requirements. He reiterated that no child should feel unheard or invisible, emphasizing that schools must nurture emotional wellbeing alongside academic achievement.

The Delhi government, Sood assured, will collaborate with both public and private educational institutions to enhance mental health frameworks, counseling infrastructure, and teacher training initiatives. He has requested a comprehensive report from the school regarding its internal review and any support it might need from the government.

The 16-year-old St Columba's School student, who aspired to become "the next Shah Rukh Khan," jumped from the Rajendra Place Metro Station platform on November 18, after reportedly enduring months of harassment from teachers. Reports suggest that on the day of the tragedy, a teacher "mocked" and humiliated him for "overacting" after he slipped and fell.

The student's death has sparked outrage, with protestors gathering outside St Columba's School. One parent, Zeba, expressed: "I want all the teachers removed from the institution and barred from continuing in this profession as they might repeat these behaviors wherever they go. They have merely been suspended. As a mother with a child in the same school, sending my child to school will never feel the same until these teachers face punishment."

Another parent, Madhuri, noted that while the school holds elaborate Christmas celebrations, it failed to observe even two minutes of silence for the deceased student.

Kartik Seth, whose child attends Noida's Lotus Valley International School, stated that this incident reflects a broader pattern of pressure in educational environments. "The school was pressuring me to take a transfer certificate for him. He experienced suicidal thoughts. The arrest of the four teachers accused of mentally harassing the St Columba's student will establish a precedent," he said.

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