What The Murder At Ryan International School Reveals About Education In India

BENGALURU: In a shocking turn of events earlier this month, the CBI arrested a 17 year old boy for the murder of a 7 year old student at Ryan International School in the National Capital Region (NCR), who was found with his throat slit in the bathroom in September this year. The Haryana police in the course of their investigation arrested a bus conductor, who has now revealed he was tortured and forced to confess. The CBI in their investigation found that the Haryana police had planted evidence and also tampered with the crime scene.

The investigation by the CBI is currently ongoing. If it is found true as the CBI is claiming that the 7 year old student was murdered by the student in 11th standard to have examinations and parent – teacher meetings postponed – then there are some serious questions that need to be asked and answered about the existing education system in the country.

Earlier last week, a student at Satyabhama University in Chennai, committed suicide after she was caught cheating, following which violence broke out on campus and the college has been closed for a month. Ragamoulika, a first year BSc Computer science student, who hung herself after she was ‘humiliated’ when reportedly caught cheating in an examination.

Over the past few years there has been a sharp rise in the number of students committing suicide due to pressures of the existing academic system and the fear of failure. Data from the National Crime Records Bureau shows that every hour, a student commits suicide in India, and that 40,000 students committed suicide between 2011 and 2015.

While there are several recorded cases of students committing suicide, the murder of the student at Ryan International School is perhaps the first case, where one student has killed another in order to postpone exams, fearing failure.

While much has been debated over the role of the Haryana police and the CBI, there has been little discussion around the cause which prompted the 17 year old to commit such a heinous crime. The 17 year old boy could have chosen to bunk his exam, cheat in it, fail or not appear for it (not to be mistaken for endorsements), rather he chose to murder another child, in order to avoid failure.

This raises some grave questions about what the existing education system is doing to individuals, and requires serious examination and reflection.

Is education only a means towards finding employment and being successful in society, or is education meant to enable individuals by providing them with knowledge, worldview and skills? What is the point of providing an education that leads an individual to take his/ her own life or the life of another?

The fact that such unfortunate incidents are unfolding in educational institutions across the country is a testimony of the failure of the prevailing education system and the large cracks in it, through which the future of the country is falling and losing their life. According to a 2012 Lancet Report India records the world’s highest incidents of suicides among youth aged 15 – 29 years.

Perhaps it is time that policy – makers and educationists across the country, come together and re – think the functioning of the existing education systems which seem to be focused only around employment, rather than holistic individual development, and equipping individuals with skills to navigate the everyday challenges of life.

Students in India face tremendous pressure, especially given the limited opportunities and fierce competition, where futures get decided based on the marks obtained. Incredibly high expectations from parents for academic excellence, further intensifies the burden on students – often forcing them into taking drastic measures such as committing suicide or in the case of the student in Ryan International School, taking the life of another student.

In the face this existing scenario, it is urgent for a discussion on education and what its real purpose is, to be held in the public domain. One student taking the life of another as a means of coping with this pressure is a sign of the great distress being faced by students.

The purpose of education is to provide individuals with a worldview, skills and ability to navigate their way through society and life, however, if the system is leading individuals to take their own lives or turning them into murderers, then clearly the system has failed and is in need of an overhaul.

Furthermore, what is urgently required in a robust mental health support system, which provides support and enables individuals struggling with these pressures to cope with the constant stress of having to excel and perform, in order to be accepted and respected in the society that they live in.

As a society and community, it is also important that groups and individuals come together to redefine parameters of success and capability in a manner that is not just limited to the marks scored or the degree obtained. These deciding parameters need to be re-imagined and re – structured, beginning in classrooms and school, which today rather than providing a healthy environment for learning, are turning into battle fields where individual are constantly pitted against one another, with their ability and success being decided by who can best reproduce word to word information provided in textbooks.