According to the World Health Organization, suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-29 year olds globally. The occurrence of suicide appears to be increasing in Pakistan. Of all the suicides in the country, more than 90 percent of them are caused by depression. Most of the suicides take place in young people under the age of 30 years. The WHO projected a suicide rate of 9.1 per 100,000 among 15-29 years of age in Pakistan in 2014. Definitely, the rate would be greater today but this dreadful situation has never been taken seriously.

On January 18, 2019, Atif Arain, a third year MBBS student at Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS), was found dead in his hostel room, he had reportedly committed suicide. Atif wanted to be a cricketer or a chartered accountant but his father’s constant pressure had compelled him to select and continue medical studies, in which he had no interest. Reportedly, he was unable to get through his examinations and often felt lonely. American author Napoleon Hill once said, “No man can succeed in a line of endeavour which he does not like.”

Atif is not the only student to have committed suicide, many students facing the same situation have committed suicides in the country.

In Pakistan, as suicide is criminalized behaviour, extremely stigmatized and is religiously forbidden, many of the cases go unreported. However, the situation has reached sky-high in the country because of the increase in rate of depression, which is the key factor responsible for suicides. Depression among students is caused by unbearable pressure of parents’ expectations and lack of career counseling.

Interest, ability, values, personality, family background and circumstances collectively play a significant role in one’s life and they enormously influence an individuals career development. Career or educational counseling, is a life-long process of guidance, it not only helps you to become a good decision-maker but also provides you with the knowledge and skills for the future. Therefore, career counseling is remarkably imperative for students as they need guidance to make a better decision about the career path they choose.

Before forcing their children to pursue a specific career, medicine or engineering, parents should realise that every field requires a certain passion that cannot be forced. When parents thrust their own ideals, opinions, and aspirations on children, they create difficulty, agony and turbulence for them

Pakistan is blessed with talented and genius people and have the potential to do something extraordinary in the world but their basic problem is that our students lack career counseling. At their tender age, they are unable to decide what field they should opt for according to their natural inclination. Secondary school is the best place where they can have reliable career guidance. Undoubtedly, secondary school occupies an important place in children’s life as at this stage of life their personality and ideology starts evolving.

It is in secondary school that a student has to make substantial decision of his/her life as after passing 8th grade they have to make very first career choice. From various subjects including science, commerce, computer and humanities etc he/ she needs to select one of them. At this stage, proper career counseling can lead a student to the path of success and its lack may result in a lifetime depression, anxiety, regression and despondency.

But, shockingly, secondary schools in Pakistan lack counseling facilities which can guide students in choosing a particular subject according to their natural inclination or desire. As a result, a great majority of students decide according to their parents’ wishes while some pick specific subjects simply because their friends opt for them. Only a few single out subjects on the basis of their interests but they don’t have knowledge about their preferred subjects and if they could lead them to their desired career or not.

Unfortunately, it has become a part of our culture that children should follow their parents’ dreams giving up their own desires and interests in choosing a career. Though some somehow manage to achieve success in those dictated goals yet even after completion of their education they have diminutive satisfaction and regret for not getting their desired career. Many fail to get through examinations of undesired subjects and entangle in the quagmire of disappointment and depression. In this perplexed situation, finding no way to escape from the stress, they decide to end their life committing suicide.

Before forcing their children to pursue a specific career, medicine or engineering, parents should realise that every field requires a certain passion that cannot be forced. When parents thrust their own ideals, opinions, and aspirations on children, they create difficulty, agony and turbulence for them. We need to let our children be independent and allow them the room to set their own goals and pursue their own dreams. Schools should create an environment providing career counseling facilities to make students capable of discovering themselves, to be able to identify their strengths and weaknesses, unearth their hidden potential and become their own goal-settlers and goal-achievers. This is the best way we can make our children enjoy a happier and healthier life. It will save them from suicidal tendencies.

The grave situation calls for the federal and provincial governments to develop proper counseling systems in schools to provide students with guidance regarding career choice, stress management, crisis handling and motivation. It will help us offer our children countless opportunities and choices, and to prevent further loss of lives.

The writer is an academic, and tweets @ARShykh

Published in Daily Times, February 2nd 2019.