“An exam can shape a career. It should never determine whether a life feels worth living.”
Another year, another headline.
A 19-year-old NEET aspirant in Rajasthan recently died by suicide after reportedly feeling distressed about her examination performance. Behind every such news report is not merely a student but a child, a sibling, a friend, and a future that ended too soon.
As a society, we often ask, “Why did they take such a step?” Perhaps the more important question is:
Why have we created an environment where so many young people feel that one examination determines the value of their entire existence?
The Numbers We Cannot Ignore
India is facing a student mental health crisis.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 14,488 students died by suicide in 2024, the highest number recorded so far. This means nearly 40 students lose their lives every day—approximately one student every 36 minutes. Student suicides have increased by over 62% in the last decade, rising much faster than overall suicide rates in the country.
These are not isolated tragedies.
They point toward systemic issues:
- Extreme academic competition
- Fear of failure
- Lack of accessible mental health support
- Social comparison and shame
- Financial burden of coaching and repeated attempts
- Identity becoming entirely tied to academic achievement
Recent nationwide protests regarding examination irregularities and paper leaks have further highlighted the immense psychological burden borne by students. Many young people report feeling betrayed by systems they trusted with their futures.
Why Does One Exam Feel Bigger Than Life?
For many students, NEET is not just an examination.
It becomes:
- A family’s dream.
- Years of sacrifice.
- Financial investments in coaching.
- Social prestige.
- Validation of intelligence.
- Hope for changing socioeconomic circumstances.
Slowly, a dangerous belief develops:
“If I fail this exam, I have failed in life.”
This thinking is understandable—but it is also deeply harmful.
A score cannot measure:
- Kindness
- Creativity
- Resilience
- Potential
- Future opportunities
- Worth as a human being
Many successful doctors, entrepreneurs, researchers, psychologists, and professionals have taken unconventional paths, changed careers, repeated examinations, or discovered entirely different passions.
Life is far larger than one entrance examination.
The Role of Society: What Can We Do Better?
1. Stop Romanticizing Extreme Sacrifice
Phrases like:
- “Sleep later.”
- “One exam decides everything.”
- “This is your only chance.”
may appear motivational but can become psychologically dangerous.
Young minds need encouragement, not fear.
2. Stop Comparing Children
Comparison creates shame.
A student’s mind often hears:
“If others succeeded and I didn’t, something must be wrong with me.”
Parents, relatives, and teachers must understand that comparison rarely motivates. More often, it destroys self-esteem.
3. Create Spaces Where Failure Can Be Discussed Safely
Many students hide distress because they fear disappointing others.
We need homes and educational institutions where students can say:
- “I am struggling.”
- “I am scared.”
- “I don’t think I can do this anymore.”
without fear of judgment.
4. Speak Openly About Mental Health
Mental health support should become as normal as tuition classes.
Seeking therapy or counselling should never be viewed as weakness.
What Families Who Are Grieving Need to Know
When a family loses a child to suicide, the grief is profound and often accompanied by guilt.
Parents may repeatedly ask:
- “Did we miss the signs?”
- “Could we have prevented this?”
- “Was it our fault?”
The truth is that suicide is usually complex and rarely caused by one single factor.
Grieving families need:
Compassion, not blame.
They need permission to:
- Seek therapy.
- Talk about their child openly.
- Connect with support groups.
- Remember their child without shame.
Parents are also victims of this tragedy.
Society must stop treating such losses as family failures and instead recognize them as a public health crisis.
To Students: How Do You Stop Making One Exam Your Entire Identity?
1. Separate Performance from Worth
You are a person who wrote an examination.
You are not your rank.
You are not your percentile.
You are not your result.
2. Expand Your Identity
Ask yourself:
Who am I beyond studies?
- Friend?
- Artist?
- Writer?
- Music lover?
- Caregiver?
- Sportsperson?
The more identities we have, the less devastating one setback becomes.
3. Understand Cognitive Distortions
Students under immense stress often think:
- “My life is over.”
- “Everyone will judge me.”
- “I will never succeed.”
These thoughts feel real but are often products of extreme emotional distress.
Feelings are important.
But feelings are not always facts.
4. Build a Life Bigger Than the Exam
Continue hobbies.
Meet friends.
Exercise.
Spend time with family.
Rest.
Your brain cannot function optimally under chronic stress.
What Can Educational Institutions Do?
Educational institutions can:
- Train teachers to identify distress signs.
- Conduct regular mental health screenings.
- Normalize counselling.
- Create peer support programs.
- Provide crisis intervention services.
A recent example from IIT Madras demonstrates that systemic support can make a difference. Through accessible counselling, mentorship, and policy reforms, the institution reported no student suicides over the last three years.
This shows that prevention is possible.
What Should the Government Do?
The student mental health crisis requires policy-level interventions.
1. Introduce Dedicated NEET and Competitive Exam Mental Health Helplines
India urgently needs:
- 24×7 multilingual counselling helplines
- Crisis intervention teams
- Tele-counselling services specifically for students
These services should become active during:
- Result periods
- Examination seasons
- Counselling rounds
- Paper leak controversies
2. Mandatory Counselling Support in Coaching Hubs
Cities such as Kota and other coaching centers should have:
- Free counselling clinics
- Suicide prevention programs
- Mental health awareness campaigns
3. Reduce Stigma Through Public Campaigns
Government campaigns should emphasize:
“An examination is important. A life is irreplaceable.”
4. Improve Examination Transparency
Repeated controversies surrounding examination irregularities contribute significantly to anxiety and hopelessness among students. Systems must become more transparent, fair, and accountable.
5. Mental Health Education in Schools
Emotional resilience should become part of the curriculum.
Students are taught algebra and biology.
They should also be taught:
- Stress management
- Emotional regulation
- Coping with failure
- Help-seeking behavior
How Mindfulness Can Help Students
Mindfulness cannot remove systemic issues.
It cannot replace reforms.
But it can become an important protective tool.
Research consistently shows mindfulness practices can help reduce anxiety, improve emotional regulation, and increase distress tolerance.
Mindfulness can help students:
1. Reduce Catastrophic Thinking
Instead of:
“My future is ruined.”
Mindfulness teaches:
“I am experiencing fear right now.”
This creates psychological distance from distressing thoughts.
2. Improve Emotional Regulation
Students learn that emotions rise and fall like waves.
No feeling remains forever.
3. Reduce Self-Criticism
Mindfulness encourages self-compassion.
Instead of:
“I am a failure.”
Students can learn to say:
“I am hurting, and I deserve support.”
4. Improve Sleep and Concentration
Chronic stress keeps the nervous system in survival mode.
Mindfulness practices such as:
- Deep breathing
- Body scans
- Grounding exercises
- Loving-kindness meditation
can help regulate the body and mind.
A Message to Every Student Reading This
If you did not achieve the result you hoped for:
Pause.
Breathe.
Talk to someone.
Your pain is real.
But this moment is not the end of your story.
There are multiple paths toward a meaningful life.
There are careers beyond NEET.
There are opportunities you cannot yet imagine.
There are people who would rather have you alive and struggling than gone forever.
You matter far beyond any scorecard.
A Collective Responsibility
Student suicides are not individual failures.
They are mirrors reflecting:
- societal pressure,
- systemic inadequacies,
- stigma around mental health,
- and our collective inability to tell young people that they are loved regardless of achievement.
Every student deserves to hear:
“Your life is worth more than your rank.”
Every parent deserves support.
Every institution must become safer.
Every government policy must recognize student mental health as a national priority.
Because no examination result should ever cost a life.
References
National Crime Records Bureau. Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India Reports. Government of India.Times of India (2026).
19-year-old NEET aspirant dies by suicide in Rajasthan.Indian Express (2026).
Another NEET aspirant dies by suicide in Sikar.Times of India (2026).
NEET aspirant jumps to death after calculating probable score.India Today (2026).
Compensation demands and protests over NEET-related suicides.Times of India (2026).
No suicides in three years: How IIT Madras put students first.Goldberg SB et al. (2022).
Mindfulness-based interventions for psychiatric disorders.Khoury B et al. (2015).
Mindfulness-based therapy: A comprehensive meta-analysis
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