Representative image of exam written on a white board.
Credit: iStock Photo
New Delhi: TMC MP Mausam Noor on Wednesday demanded that the central government take concrete measures to reform the country's admission and examination system, raising concern over rising cases of suicides among students.
According to the latest data of National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), students account for eight per cent of total suicide victims, equating to more than 30,000 lives lost in a year, Noor informed the Rajya Sabha during Zero Hour.
She opined that this is a crisis which needs immediate attention and action.
Noor stated that 35 per cent of all suicides are committed in the age group of 18-30 years.
"The failure in our admission and examination system is starkly evident," she noted.
She informed the House that as many as 1,123 children under 18 years of age, ended their lives due to exam failure in 2022 while 1,445 young adults took their lives over unemployment.
The recent figures highlight the brutal competition students endure.
"This year, over 23 lakh candidates appeared for NEET UG, but only 1.8 lakh MBBS seats were available. Similarly 12.3 lakh students appeared for JEE MAINS, vying for mere 39,767 seats. The disparity is crushing," she said.
Students' worth is wrongly tied to exam results, she pointed out.
The intense media hype, societal shame, lack of academic counselling and unemployment are pushing them to the edge, she stated adding that the future of lakhs of students who prepared for NEET, UGC NET, CSIR NET and NEET PG this year, hangs in the balance.
"The state of education in our country has reached a critical stage. Each student suicide is a national tragedy, starkly reflecting government failure to support its youth. Therefore, the government must urgently undertake concrete measures to reform the country's admission and examination system," she said.
BJP MP Mithlesh Kumar raised demand to extend the benefit of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana to all below poverty line families.
It is a national public health insurance scheme of Government of India that aims to provide free access to health insurance coverage for low income earners in the country.
Dinesh Sharma (BJP) demanded conservation, propagation and restoration of Sanskrit language. BJP MP Chunnilal Garasiya raised the demand to elevate Udaipur Passport Sewa Kendra.
K Laxman from BJP raised concern over financial crisis of all-India fair price shop dealers.
Sanjay Yadav (RJD) demanded enhancement of availability of sports infrastructure. BJP MP Seema Dwivedi demanded hostels and canteen facilities to students in Delhi.
Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury raised concern over increasing incidents of train accidents in the country.
BJP MP Ghulam Ali demanded a scheme for welfare of Himalayan forest dwellers.