Meditation may be the mantra to combat fear and stress in India's schools

George Iype in New Delhi

The fear of exams is driving students in many Delhi schools to commit the desperate act that the depressed resort to -- suicide.

According to Delhi police records, by the time this year's annual examinations ended last week, at least eight school children had committed suicide in the capital, a consequence of the fear and nervous breakdowns that the question papers inspired.

Worried at this growing trend of suicides among students, some schools in Delhi are introducing meditation programmes to help the children gain self control and face the exams fearlessly.

"Fear of exams is making many students emotional wrecks. Therefore, we found that regular meditation courses could help them become more courageous,'' says Minu Goswami, the principal of the Apeejay School.

It is among the few schools which has included meditation in the curriculum to help students improve their temperament and self confidence.

The move, in fact, follows after sociologists, paediatricians and parent-teachers associations expressed grave concern at the way many schools are imposing their syllabus on the students.

"The environment in many schools in Delhi is detrimental to the overall development of the child,'' feels educationist P K Gopinathan. ''Tiny tots are being burdened with a bundle of books from a tender age,'' he told Rediff On The NeT.

"The atmosphere at schools as well as at home is stifling for a number of students who are forced to perform at any cost,'' he said, adding that ''those, who fail to perform, perish rather tragically.''

According to a survey conducted by the New Delhi-based Society for the Promotion of Education, nearly 25 per cent of more than 100, 000 students in Delhi's 48 public schools are depressed and emotionally upset during the exam season.

Suggesting various measures to streamline the school education system to help students overcome their fear psychosis, the survey urged parents not to push their children to the rigours of competition in schools.

Many teachers believe meditation could be one method to help their disciples observe self control during crises and concentrate better in their studies.

Says Principal Goswami: ''Several restless students and others with problems have shown dramatic improvement after taking the meditation courses.''

Already well-known schools in the capital like the Sriram School, Sardar Patel Vidyalaya and Mirambika School have begun regular meditation classes to teach the pupils the art of controlling their minds.

Though the number of schools practising meditation is still small, the idea is catching on swiftly.

According to the Vipasna Meditation Programme in New Delhi that conducts meditation courses for the Apeejay school students, the children are encouraged to exercise self control each time they feel like doing something they know is wrong.

VMP's Manju Vaish, who conducts meditation courses in five schools in Delhi, says meditation has helped improve the discipline and concentration of children.

''It has also corrected the behavioural flaws in some children and even helped a few students to overcome suicidal tendencies,'' she told Rediff On The NeT.

The VMP programme introduces children to meditation at the pre-nursery stage through the constant use of the word 'self control.'

When they enter class V, the students are taught to concentrate on their breathing. Whenever students become unruly, they are asked to concentrate on their breathing for two minutes. By the time they reopen their eyes, they are calmer and can focus better on lessons.

But not all believe that meditation will enable the students overcome fear during exams and an inferiority complex in classrooms.

''Meditation is a rigorous exercise for many students. It may not help them free their tensions,'' says Ranjan Aggarwal whose 12-year- old nephew committed suicide last month.

''Schools are now centres of cut-throat competition. We want our children to study in those schools which are centres of harmony and humane approach,'' he said.