KOLKATA: A

CBSE

Class 12 student from Kolkata, who had attempted suicide during the first board paper in Feb and displayed tremendous grit to sit through the rest of the

exam

after overcoming

mental health

issues, secured a creditable first division at 63%. “I realise giving up is not an option,” said the plucky girl.
The girl’s

suicide attempt

was on Feb 22, during the English paper.

She later said that she felt as though she had let everyone down.

TOI had reported the incident and had also tracked her progress – how she was counselled by her teachers and persuaded not to give up. The next exam was mathematics on March 9. She had almost given up hope when teachers at her school, Aditya Birla Academy, stepped in. Over two weeks, they counselled her until she was ready to take the exam.

“When I came back, it was a new me,” said the girl. “I was confident and felt better. I conquered and survived.”
The courage was rewarded on Monday when she saw her exam result. Her parents were proud of her achievements, profusely thanking her teachers for their help. “We are immensely grateful to the teachers and the principal of the school. They motivated our daughter and helped us to motivate her even more after seeing everyone support her so much,” her father said.

She was always a good student, consistently scoring over 90%, including an impressive 95% in her Class 10 board exams in 2020.
‘No one talks about how tough it is to meet high expectations’
The girl was always a good student, who had scored above 90% in her Class X boards. However, the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent disruptions were a problem. “No one talks about the effect of the lockdown on students,” she said.
“Everyone talks about how it was easier taking exams offline, but no one says how difficult it is to go back to studying, to sit for the boards again, to prepare, and deliver according to everyone’s high expectations.” She dropped Class XII in 2022 and took admission in Aditya Academy. “I was asked not to sit for the boards, as every time I tried writing a paper, I would faint,” she said.
The student now believes that the worst is over, thanks to her parents, teachers and mental health professionals. She now wants to pursue science in college and later, an MBA.