Back to back 'bullying' incidents in Kerala warrants need for life skill training

Thiruvananthapuram: The death of a 15 year old school boy in Kochi allegedly following severe torture by classmates could not be seen as a one off incident. Of late Kerala witnessed a series of such instances of students ending life owing to bullying by classmates.

The torture allegedly suffered by Mihir Ahammed of Global Public school in Kochi ranged from making him lick toilet seat to teasing over complexion by his classmates. He ended life by jumping from the 26th floor of his flat in Kochi on January 15.

The incident received national attention with Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra condemning it. "No child should endure what Mihir faced. Bullying isn’t harmless; it destroys lives. Parents must teach kindness, love, empathy, and the courage to speak up.," Rahul said in a social media post.

Ammu Sajeev, 22, a final year nursing student at the government nursing college at Pathanamthitta, died on November 15 after falling from the third-floor of the hostel. She was a victim of harassment by classmates.

Kerala was shellshocked over the brutal torture suffered by 20 year old J S Sidharthan, a veterinary degree student at Wayanad, from his collegemates. He was found hanging in the washroom of the college hostel last February.

Last week a plus-one student stabbed a class nine student in Thiruvananthapuram, while a class nine student in a Kottayam district was allegedly undressed by some of his classmates and videos circulated.

In most of the instances of bullying including that of Kochi boy Mihir Ahammed, the school authorities seem to have a tendency of hushing up the matters to save the reputation of the institutions.

Child psychologists and psychiatrists blame it on the influence of social media and video games for the increasing criminal tendencies among students. Lack of parental and teacher care as well as absence of proper life skill training for children are forcing many to end life by suicide,they opine.

"Most children are exposed to video games right from early childhood. Video games create a sense of aggression and urge to win and do away with the mentality of negotiation. This is one factor that develops into criminal tendency among children as they grow," says Dr Jayaprakash R, child psychiatrist and professor at the behavioral pediatrics unit at the SAT Hospital attached to the Thiruvananthapuram government medical college.

He said that there was an urgent need to impart life skill training to students in order to make them capable of the fresh challenges.

There seems to be a lack of awareness among the students about helplines that offer psychological support to those in distress.

"On an average we used to get seven to ten calls a day. But majority are middle aged persons," said Lenitha Annamma Joseph, director of Kochi-based NGO Maithri that provides psychological support

Though there are counselling facilities in most schools, most students in distress were found to be not availing it voluntarily. It seems to due to concerns over confidentiality, she added