When Results Turn Deadly
Syed Farhat
syedfarhatofficial@gmail.com
Board examination results are meant to mark learning, growth, and new beginnings. Yet in Jammu & Kashmir today, they marked despair. A 12th-class student attempted suicide after failing in just one subject.
This tragedy is not an exception. Almost every year, after results are declared, similar reports surface from across the country. Each incident raises a disturbing but unavoidable question: have we, as a society, turned academic failure into a death sentence?
The moment results are announced, media platforms—print, electronic, and social—erupt in celebrations of toppers. Faces, marks, schools, and families dominate headlines and timelines. While merit deserves appreciation, unchecked glorification and constant comparison have a hidden, deadly cost.
In our society, marks have stopped being numbers. They have become labels of honour or humiliation. High scorers are celebrated as symbols of success, while those who score less—or fail—are pushed into silence, shame, and fear. Failure is no longer seen as part of learning; it is treated as disgrace.
The damage is often done through casual remarks: “Look at your friend—he topped.”
“Your cousin brought pride; you brought shame.”
“We are embarrassed because of you.”
Such words turn homes into courtrooms and results into verdicts. A student, already struggling with disappointment, begins to believe that failure means worthlessness. Under this unbearable pressure, some see no way out.
The student who attempted suicide today did not fail an exam. We failed him. We failed to remind him that life is larger than one subject, one result, one year. When these incidents repeat every results season, the problem is no longer personal—it is societal.
Our obsession with marks has become dangerous. Education is meant to nurture thinking, creativity, character, and skills—not reduce children to rank lists. By glorifying toppers while ignoring those who struggle, we send a brutal message: only success deserves dignity.
The truth is simple: marks are not the true measure of talent. Across the world, institutions and employers increasingly value skills, innovation, emotional intelligence, and problem-solving over exam scores. History is full of achievers who were never toppers but excelled in entrepreneurship, science, arts, sports, leadership, and social service.
A marksheet cannot capture creativity, resilience, empathy, or vision. When society worships numbers alone, it not only crushes young minds but also risks losing future innovators and leaders who do not fit into a narrow academic mould.
Students who fail or score low need support—not scorn. They need reassurance, guidance, and belief. They need to hear that failure is not final, that one exam does not define their future, and that their worth is not measured by marks.
The media also bears responsibility. Alongside achievers, it must highlight stories of resilience, second chances, and success beyond marks. Journalism must heal, not harm.
Celebrating excellence is not wrong. Celebrating it without sensitivity is. If we truly care about our children, we must replace comparison with compassion and pressure with possibility.
Only then will education inspire hope, not fear.
Only then will no child feel that death is easier than disappointing society.
(The writer is a social worker, RTI activist, environmentalist, and climate journalist)
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