Comments (13)
Share this article
Print this page
Email a friend
- RSS
- Today's Paper
- Subscribe
- beta 2.0
High: 25°C
Low: 9°C
Alerts
In the pressure cooker
This is with reference to a report in your newspaper of April 17 on the alleged suicide of Ishfaq Hussain, a...
Sarah Munir is an associate producer at Dawn News.
This is with reference to a report in your newspaper of April 17 on the alleged suicide of Ishfaq Hussain, a 21-year-old student from Chitral at the Aga Khan University in Karachi.
The tragedy brings a lot of unpleasant memories to mind and reminds us all of the helplessness and despair the young man must have felt for him to take his life. Suicide among university and college students in Pakistan is a bitter reality and similar incidents have happened at places like the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, LUMS and AKU (prior to this one as well).
I was a student at LUMS when the body of a promising student was found hanging from the ceiling of his dorm room in April 2008. Words cannot express the grief that one feels for the family.
When he was found dead, it was as if we had lost one of our own, given that we all used to see him in our classes and other university areas.
And in his death, we found failure our own, that is, in preventing him from taking his life. We thought that we had all let him down. Was he a victim of the system, I wondered then I am not sure about the answer but at that time I certainly thought that to be the case. What possible symptoms of depression should we have looked out for? How can fellow students identify such traits among their colleagues?
These were questions that troubled many of us when our colleague took his life but unfortunately, purely from a professional point of view, there was not much to go by in terms of detecting someone with suicidal tendencies.
In the case of the AKU student, a few of his classmates, according to this newspaper’s report, had identified him as a bit of a recluse and suffering from chronic depression but there wasn’t much that they could do, because professional help and counseling were either lacking or students were not really encouraged to avail them.
Even so, a student being depressed may not necessarily be a prerequisite for someone having a suicidal tendency. This was the case with the LUMS student because he was quite outgoing and friendly and his peers had little reason, really, to suspect that anything was even remotely wrong.
Of course, the role of the university administration is crucial in all this. A good university and especially one that charges high fees should provide adequate counselling and psychological services to those members of its student body who are undergoing, say, examrelated stress.
There should also be an effective medium of communication that engages the parents and families of the students. Perhaps the Higher Education Commission, which is the government regulator for universities, can play a role in this regard by factoring in such services when evaluating institutions.
Reader Comments (13)
Latest News
Gilani chairs CCI meeting in Islamabad
CCI meeting is being attended by the chief ministers of Punjab, Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Arrest warrant for Maldives ex-president: his party
A criminal court in the Maldives has issued an arrest order for former president Mohamed Nasheed.
Pakistan al Qaeda chief killed by US drone: Officials
Badr Mansoor, who reputedly sent fighters to Afghanistan and ran a training camp in North Waziristan, killed.
Don’t rest Tendulkar, says Gavaskar
'India should not rest record-chasing Sachin Tendulkar as part of rotation policy in ongoing tri-series in Australia.'
US still lacks Guantanamo transfer safeguards: Lawmakers
Detainees have been transferred to countries such as Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Yemen, Spain and Denmark.
Recent Slideshows
More in Opinion
The rise and fall of IPL’s boss
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, redistributed or derived from.
Unless otherwise stated, all content is copyrighted © 2012 The Express Tribune News Network.
Technical feedback? webmaster@tribune.com.pk
in a country where days have sunk in the darkness,courtesy load shedding,where stoves are begging for the fire,and rats are the residents of the stomcks instead of food, where favouratism and victumization have confiscated the jobs,at that place sucide attempts are the sole right of the people……..dont grabb that right from them.as for as ur bread n butter s concern then its apt writing, otherwise dont waste ur time in writing such paragraph.
regardsRecommend
well written article ms munir!Recommend
Thank you for bringing up the HEC. We are quick to point at the universities and how they should make better arrangements towards avoiding such unfortunate incidences, and rightly so, but perhaps things will move faster if the HEC were to drive it down.
However, there is a bigger issue here, which you aptly call “the system”. Measures taken by universities, or even new policies from HEC may help students to cope with this ‘system’, but if the ‘system’ in itself is the problem then we should be asking for more than just a new Dean at AKU who deals with students’ problems (which we should do anyway, in the meanwhile). This ‘system’ takes many more lives in the top tier universities around the world. Especially in the US, universities like MIT, Harvard, Cornell and others continue to fight this battle year after year.
We, who borrow this model ‘system’ from these respected institutions should be more worried. We should be more worried, because we are a different people, and so there is a need to realize that only does this ‘system’ come with its fatal flaws, it was perhaps designed with a different audience in mind. If you import a sports car to Karachi, it’s a given that you will not be able to drive it around the city unless you take it to the garage and make major changes.
But, I guess in the meanwhile we need those new deans, psychiatrists and HEC policies and may be some day the Ministry of Education can put together a committee who re-models the ‘system’.Recommend
It is sad to see how much of a stir some incidents in universities create, while small boxes in Urdu dailies regularly cover suicides of common non-university going people who, on many occassions, kill their families and then kill themselves. Not to forget the suicide bombers. Not to forget Adam’s song by Blink 182 and Perfect Circle’s Noose.Recommend
Good article Ms Sarah Munir.
Due to family and social pressure our youngster when think that they will not able to get good grades go for suicide .
Its time to think and act against increase of psychological disorders in our youth either they start taking drugs or become violent and get into crime world .
Its all because not availability of good employment after completing his education .
In our country if any middle class family help his children education even by selling family silver in hope of good job.But in real world the upper class fill all upper positions and the people of middle class left with menial jobs.
Even one of the IBA graduate who was working as marketing manager refused for higher job the reason was told that he is a RANKER .
I request the parents that they should not put extra pressure on there children for high grades as there are lot of successful people are there who were not very good with there studies but in practical world they proved there mantle .Recommend
Well said Sarah. It would be great if the mainstream media could do stories on the life of these students. This would give us a chance to remember them and give us insight into their lives; which – barring a few decisions – would very much reflect our own student life.Recommend
I often go through student suicide related articles with the mere rhetorical replies in the end. I would like to ask Sarah and other guys who are praising the article and giving suggestions that what you people have done for this particular cause ? Filed any plea or FIR to at least conduct inquiry ?
Its easy to comment and appreciate articles but when it comes to do real work, we all retreat.Recommend
Im proud of u sarah munir!Recommend
Well done Sarah!…..very touching and thought provoking…Sometimes raising an issue itself is a step to the way forward…Looking forward to more articles from you!…Wishing you all the best!Recommend
Good Work sara! all your arguments are valid.Recommend
Great article Sarah.Recommend
Sarah,
Yes, I endorse your views, specially the last para. The redressal to the problem lies in bridging the communication gap; may it be between the parents or the teacher.
I had been a student 45 years back, then life was not much influenced by social economic system, as its today. What tends to drive student to perform a suicidal act is the failure to achieve objectives that results in depression. At studies I believe this can be well noticed by the teacher. We are too shy to share our problems. Its time that counselling is done, hopefully remedies can be found.
The case of AKU student may have been different had he opted to avail the medical counselling available next door.Recommend
spot on!Recommend