School says pressure of studies and fear of failure in unit tests may be behind 15-yr-old boy consuming phenyl in toilet
Unable to bear the pressure of studies and fearing failure in the unit tests, a 15-year-old student of Hume McHenry Memorial High School yesterday attempted suicide by consuming phenyl in the school washroom.
The school said the results of unit tests held recently were scheduled to be out soon and fear of failure was likely playing on the Std X student’s mind.
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Drastic step: The Hume McHenry Memorial High School. The boy was found unconscious in a washroom on the third floor. Pic/Krunal Gosavi
Rushed to hospital by some students and teachers who spotted him lying unconscious on the washroom floor, the boy was stated to be out of danger.
The school said the boy, before attempting suicide, wrote on his left hand: “I am finding it (studies) difficult and now I don’t want to live. I love you Mom-Dad.”
No police case
The Swargate police station, which was alerted by the hospital, decided not to register a case considering the mental state of the boy and his future.
School principal B B Bhosale said the boy was studying in Std X and on Thursday, when a teacher was conducting class, he rose up and sought permission for a toilet break.
“He went to the washroom on the third floor of the school building and there he consumed phenyl, which he was carrying in a small bottle brought from home,” he said. “Some teachers and students saw him lying on the floor and rushed him to a nearby hospital, where he is recuperating.”
The principal said the boy was an average student. “He might have been scared as in two days the results of the unit tests were about to be declared,” Bhosale said. “He might have felt that he would not get good marks in the examination and decided to take such extreme action.”
He said the boy might have been reprimanded by his parents at home. “We never ever scolded him over studies,” Bhosale said. “The incident shocked us all.”
The principal claimed that one of the boy’s friends in class had offered to accompany him to the washroom, but the boy asked him to stay back.
“We have told his parents to counsel and console him henceforth,” Bhosale said. A teacher said that three days ago the boy had sounded tense and expressed his fear of failure in the unit tests.
Police Inspector Ram Pathare of the Swargate police station said they would not be taking any action as it would only add to the trauma of the boy.u00a0
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