Maharashtra: Unable to attend online classes, Class X girl hangs self in Akola

PUNE: A Standard X student committed suicide in Akola district on March 30 because she was allegedly unable to attend online classes in the absence of a cellphone.
Belonging to an economically disadvantaged family, Payal Gawai hanged herself inside her home on the evening of March 30. Her family members were sitting outside then. Payal is survived by her parents, two elder sisters and a younger brother.
Aditi Shirsath, one of the sisters of Payal, said the latter was under tremendous stress over lack of preparation for the upcoming examination because of her inability to attend the online classes.
“Payal was a good student. For a long time, she did not even have books because we could not afford them. She was aware of our financial condition and never said anything that would put further burden on my father. Probably that is why she never insisted on a cellphone.”
Aditi said, “When the school had reopened, she was happy and going to school. But as examinations started approaching, she had no way to access any lectures or links given online. She had told the family members that she was not at all prepared for the examination and she did not know what to do. She always said she wantedto join the police when she grew up,” said Aditi.
State school education minister Varsha Gaikwad told TOI that a toll-free helpline number for students was in the pipeline and it could be announced in a day or two. “We shall be instructing all teachers in the state to reach out to each student and make them aware of these numbers,” said Gaikwad.
“My first appeal to students is that they need to understand that no examination is more important than their life. I know this is an important year (for board exam students)) and everybody expects a lot from them, but nothing is more precious than life. Second, we have already provided numbers of trained counsellors appointed by the State Council of Education Research and Training from every district to the students.”
The investigating officer from Dabki Road police station, Farhatullah Syed, said, “Aditi’s father works in a shop and earns about Rs6,000 per month. Preliminary investigation revealed that they had no cellphone at home with which she could study. Her board examinations were also coming up and she was unprepared for the exam as she had not attended the online classes. We are still investigating the matter.”
Last year in September, a 15-year-old girl had committed suicide in Satara district because of lack of a smartphone to attend her school’s online classes.