How is MOE reducing the suicide trend in students?

Less students are committing suicide in Singapore.

Last year, 12 students took their own lives, down from 19 students in 2003.

Of these 12 students, five were from the primary, secondary school and junior colleges cluster and seven were from post-secondary and tertiary institutes.

The figures were revealed in a written reply from Education Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen to a Mdm Cynthia Phua who asked about the Ministry of Education's initiatives in reducing the suicide trend among students.

According to Dr Ng, one of the key measures that have been developed is the tiered-referral system in place in every school which helps to facilitate the early identification and extension of help to students in need of support.

"At the first tier are our teachers who are trained to identify students who show signs that they are troubled and provide the necessary basic support, including referring students to counsellors in school who form the second tier of support.

"Complex cases are referred to the third tier of support, which can involve guidance specialists from MOE, mental health professionals or the relevant social service agencies," Dr Ng explained.

He also cited an online support network run by the Health Promotion Board and a hotline provided by the Samaritans of Singapore as useful resources for troubled students.

Dr Ng also reminded that while schools and the wider community can support and educate our youths, the support from the home is also paramount.

My Commentary

Suicide is the act of terminating one's own life. I feel that life only comes once and we should treasure it. Henry Van Dyke said, "Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars." Why end your life because of study stress when you still have a long way to go? As students, we still have many more years to live, and we shouldn't end our life because of school work.

I feel that many of the reasons for committing suicide, such as depression, emotional pain or economic hardship, are temporary and treatable through therapy and lifestyle changes. However, the argument against this is that while emotional pain may seem transitory to most people, in many other cases it may be extremely difficult or even impossible to resolve, even through counseling or lifestyle change, depending on the severity of the case and the persons ability to cope with their pain.

Moreover, they say that suicide is a personal choice and a solution to problems. They believe that no being should be made to suffer unnecessarily, and suicide provides an escape from suffering. Moreover, those who argue that suicide is acceptable, claim that under certain circumstances, such as incurable disease and old age, suicide is acceptable. The idea is that although life is generally good, people who face irreversible suffering should not be forced to continue suffering.

By committing suicide, others around us will also get affected. As with any death, family and friends of a suicide victim feel grief associated with loss. Their trauma can leave them feeling guilty, angry, remorseful, helpless, and confused. It can be especially difficult for them because many of their questions as to the victim's final decision are left unanswered. Moreover, they often feel that they should have intervened in some way to prevent the suicide, even if the suicide comes as a surprise and there are no obvious warning signs.

In conclusion, I think that committing suicide is usually a rash decision made by a person and should not even be thought about. It is heart-warming to know that MOE is helping to reduce the number of students committing suicide.