After not finding her symbol number in the newspapers Thursday morning, Niruta Karki, 16, of Khadadevi-9, Ramechhap hung herself with a shawl from the hook meant for ceiling fan in a rented room at Kathmandu-35, Narephant, where she stayed with her elder brother. [break]
Likewise, two girls of Mahadevsthan, who gave SLC from Prabhat Secondary School, consumed poison together after learning about their failure. Rubina KC, 18, died while her friend Sabala Baniya, 16, is undergoing treatment at the Samaj Hospital. Reshma Kandel, 17, of Jyamrung, Dhading, Shekha Kumari Singh, 16, of Janakpur-8, Pratikshya Sharma, 16, of Nepalgunj-13, Madhu Dewan of Biratnagar, and Sarita Rana of Palpa also hung themselves to death after failing SLC exams.
Psychologist Dr Ganga Pathak blamed their demanding parents for the suicides of these girls. “The girls may have committed suicide due to pressure, and the accompanying guilt, of not being able to meet the expectations of their parents,” Dr Pathak said.
She also said that giving undue importance to SLC piles up pressure on the students. “The students would have appeared in hundreds of exams and passed them before sitting for SLC. The fear of SLC, however, takes over and they cannot perform well in the exams,” she explained. She also blasted the system of giving marks and opined that grading system should be embraced.
She attributed the propensity to commit suicide among girls to their sensitive and emotional nature compared to boys. “While boys may shrug off their failure casually, girls take such drastic decisions on impulse as they are more sensitive. Our social structure too puts more pressure on daughters than sons,” she stated.
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