Lok Sabha Question No. 2373 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-08
Subject: Depression in Students
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Pinaki Misra

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 2373 TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.07.2019

## Depression in Students

## 2373. SHRI PINAKI MISRA:

Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is a fact that there were cases of depression and nervous breakdown amongst the  teenagers  taking  the  board exams due to parents or peer pressure and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the number  of such cases which were  reported  and  the  number  of  such students who failed to take the board exams; and
- (c) whether  any  attempt  was  made  by  the  Government  to  counsel  the  parents  to  refrain from creating pressure beyond the capacity of their children?

## A N S W E R

## MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRI RAMESH POKHRIYAL 'NISHANK')

(a) & (b):  The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development does not maintain any such information.  However, two cases of psychological disturbances were reported at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV), Bangalore during the year 2017-18.  Required support was provided to counsel the students and parents.  As per the medical  advice  and  the  request  of  the  parents,  both  students  did  not  appear  in  the  board examination in the year 2018 for Class XII.

(c): In  2018  and  2019,  the  Department  of  School  Education  and  Literacy,  Ministry  of Human  Resource  Development  organised  ' Pariksha  Pe  Charcha' to  reduce  the  stress  of examinations,  wherein  the  Hon'ble  Prime  Minister,  Shri  Narendra  Modi  interacted  with  a cross section of students, teachers and parents from India and abroad. The students, teachers and parents not only participated in the unique event but also received valuable tips from the Hon'ble Prime Minister.  It was emphasized in the programme that the students take exams in a relaxed atmosphere and do not come under stress to ensure better results in the long run.

Central  Board of  Secondary  Education  (CBSE)  provides  pre-examination  and  post result  counseling  services  to  students  and  parents  every  year  to  overcome  exam  related anxiety, common psychological problems and general queries related to classes X and XII, as a part of the Board's outreach programme, which caters to the heterogeneous students' and parent's population and  vast geographical network of schools.

During the year 2018-19, pre-exam tele-counseling was available from 01.02.2019 to 04.04.2019  and  the  post-result  counseling  was  available  from  02.05.2019  to  16.05.2019. CBSE has also introduced the facility of Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) on a toll free  number  1800  11  8004  which  can  be  accessed  anytime  anywhere  by  the  callers.  In addition to this, comprehensive audio and textual material to cope with result related anxiety are also available on the CBSE website.

In  the  Kendriya  Vidyalayas  (KVs)  and  the  schools  under  Central  Tibetan  Schools Administration (CTSA), meetings with parents are convened at regular intervals.

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