The 12th-grade state exam has come under scrutiny following the deaths of 19 students since mid-April in the Indian state of Telangana.

Hundreds of parents have protested the way that the tests are marked and evaluated, claiming that students were awarded incorrect marks and – as was the case for the 19 who took their own lives – failing.

This exam determines university admissions, reports CNN, which compounds the pressure to do well.

Students were also marked absent for exams that they attended (an immediate score of zero) or were awarded zero marks for tests that they prepared for.

“It is all unfortunate. People should not resort to such kind of extreme steps. Mistakes have happened at some level. That can be checked and rectified,” said Jitender, a senior state police official who goes only by his first name.

India’s education system has been criticised for the pressure placed on students not just to pass examinations, but to exceed expectations at all costs.

Thousands of Indian young people die by suicide every year, according to the National Crime Record Bureau. In 2015, they made up 6.7% of all suicides, totaling to almost 9,000 deaths. Some experts, parents and officials blame the pressure to succeed in school.

The Telangana state government has repeatedly appealed to parents to contact the education board if they suspect that there are discrepancies in exam results so that they can be rectified.

However, two or three suicides have been reported every day in Telangana since the announcement of the results on April 18, Jitender says.

“We are definitely trying to create an awareness, but still, all these people are spread over a large area. … Our appeal will have limited access,” he said.

The pressure to succeed in education is a worldwide concern. In more local news, Marshall Nyaungwa, a graduate student at Rhodes University, took his own life on April 27.

His death is just one of the many reported at universities across South Africa over the past few years, reports TimesLIVE.

Last year, issues around suicide and depression at universities were highlighted when 23-year-old Rhodes law student Khensani Maseko took her life. A Wits University student committed suicide and another was rushed to hospital following a suicide attempt. The two incidents happened within 24 hours of each other.

If you or someone you know is suffering from depression, help is at hand here.

[source:cnn&timeslive]