Youngsters pushed to the brink, say parents
Shweta Subramanian, a student in Bengaluru, finds it very difficult to cope with what she calls “pressure cooker” situations. Shweta is like countless others living in urban India, battling anxiety or depression in a landscape where very little help is available. Ironically, Shweta is a student of Psychology, a drastic indication that conditions at educational institutions, coaching centres and even home situations do little to ease the growing burden on children and young adults. “The college expects us to meet impractical deadlines – sometimes even past midnight. We are forced to give up time with family and friends even after we reach home and emotional breakdowns are a weekly occurrence now,” she says.
Recently, Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar criticised the working styles of coaching centres, claiming that they “treat students like slaves.” Echoing his sentiments is career counsellor and psychotherapist Kavita Agarwal, who observes that a whopping 70% of the cases she handles at Disha, her counselling firm on Kanakapura Road, are of students who attend classes at these institutes. “The situations our younger generations find themselves in these days are psychologically devastating. Pressure from peers, parents and society at large makes adolescence feel like a traumatic rebirth, as the individual attempts to piece together a comprehensive identity from these situations,” she says. The spirit of competition, highly stoked in mainstream institutions, has also taken its toll. The number of youngsters who experience emotional breakdowns even in their early teens is on the rise.
David Dinakar, artist and father of two believes that the mindset of competition instilled amongst youngsters has taken an ‘ unhealthy turn’ recently. “Back then stress and mental pressure were words that we became familiar with only after we started working. Today, kids are losing out on their childhood and slaves to the system instead. This is a matter stakeholders need to look into,” he says, adding that parents have their role to play in understanding the capabilities of their wards and avoiding comparisons at all costs.
However, Randhir Kumar, Secretary of Fprep, an online coaching institute said that the process of preparing for competitive exams, by default, requires stringency from trainers to ensure hard work and discipline from aspirants. “Understanding the strength and opportunity areas of students and then teaching them accordingly helps in providing the best guidance to them. It also keeps students interested in learning more and helps them do their best,” he says.