Thaindian News

Agra, April 18 (IANS) A 32-year-old woman committed suicide by jumping before a train in this Uttar Pradesh district after three of her school-going children failed in their exams, police said Sunday.
Anjana, a resident of Arjun Nagar, killed herself Saturday afternoon near Madia Katra close to Raja ki Mandi station here.

“Anjana had gone to collect the report cards of her kids, studying in class 3, 2 and KG in Shishu Bharti School. When she did not return home, her husband and neighbours launched a search. Police later found her body on a railway track with a bag containing three report cards. All the kids had failed and probably this led to her ending her life,” a police officer told IANS.

Anjana’s husband, who runs a mobile phone repair shop, told police that she remained depressed and was concerned about the performance of her kids.

A family member said Anjana had told her eldest son that she would not return home if the results were not up to her expectations.

When asked about an education department directive that no student is to be detained up to Class 5, Basic Shiksha Additional Director Meena Katiyar told IANS: “Schools governed by the state directorate have been told not to fail any student till Class 5. But some private schools and particularly those not affiliated to or recognised by any board have their own system. We have no immediate information whether this particular school comes under our jurisdiction.”

Parents at the school said this was another tragic case of high expectations not being fulfilled in this highly competitive world.

Harish Agarwal, whose daughter also studies in the same school, said: “Many children in primary classes have failed this year. The school is yet to be affiliated to any board.”

Shishu Bharti School principal Bhaskar Basu told IANS: “The mother came quite early on Saturday around 7.30 a.m. She took the report cards and went away without discussing with anyone in the school. The children were not good in studies. We earlier told the parents about it, but they never paid attention. Last year too, the father and grandfather came and on their request we promoted the kids. In this case we have no role and our standards are strict.”

“We want to follow our principles and ensure we give quality education,” Bhaskar said admitting that the school was neither recognised by nor affiliated to any board.