Beyond Parinav: Disturbing rise in missing children triggers call for system overhaul

Bengaluru: While the case of the missing 12-year-old Parinav garnered all the attention, it is certainly not an isolated incident of its kind.

The number of missing children recorded in Bengaluru last year, 421, is a 34 per cent jump from 2021, which was 314. Though the missing children in 85 per cent of the cases had been retraced, the 58 untraced children are still substantial. This is a 1,000 per cent jump from the mere 5 per cent untraced children in 2021.

Activists, experts, and police point to undue academic pressure and the controlled environment created by the prevailing education system as reasons for so many children fleeing home.

Prof John Vijay Sagar, Head of the Department, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Nimhans, lists several factors that prompt children to leave home or school. "Academic pressure for high marks and ranks is a common factor, but it could also be a result of bullying, poor interpersonal or family relationships, lack of coping skills, parental pressure or a high achievement orientation,” he explained. 

“Since school acts as a stressor for children, we see cases of many children abstaining from school and taking to increased gadget use, which makes them more anxious," he added.

Civil and human rights activist Brinda Adige calls for a total overhaul of the education system since it is ruthlessly competitive. “We have failed to teach children how to comfortably ask questions, how to develop critical, independent thinking,” she rued.

She said children are burdened by the "regressive system", which neglects their mental health. “There is no avenue for free expression of creativity,” Brinda added.

Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda told DH that handling cases involving children demands a sensitive approach, citing instances where children have left home due to being denied a new mobile phone.

"Today's children are more aware and have more information than the earlier times. You cannot use the same yardstick with all the children because no two children are alike," he said, adding that good communication is a better option than reprimanding a child.

Chandragupta, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime), said overexposure to social media is an issue. “Children start identifying themselves with the approval they get on social media and let that dictate their lives,” he said. “Open communication between parents and children will help them keep track of what their children do on social media.”