EDUCATION PRESSURE COOKERS AND CONTEMPT FOR 'FAILURES

Winner takes everything and loser takes nothing? This seems to be the heartfelt conviction, if not the motto of many Sri Lankans.

- By Gamini Akmeemana

There is no place for losers in a country where so many are struggling to make ends meet.

There can be many definitions of a loser. The cases which prompted this column are not my idea of what constitutes a loser. Before we call people who opt out of a race or a competitive situation losers, we need to scrutinise their cases.

Speaking of the suicide of an A' Level female student who, it is alleged, was pushed too hard by her peers at school, I was startled by the reaction of two young men they blamed her for not being able to handle the pressure.

That reminded me of another student suicide Charith Dilshan, an undergraduate of Sabaragamuwa University, who committed suicide in May due to intense pressure and humiliation caused by raggers. We recall an earlier suicide at the same university; female undergrad Amali Chathurika.

These cases are mentioned now because, when discussing their deaths, I got the same reaction from several people they took their own lives because they couldn't stand the pressure. This is what campus raggers say when a new student drops out or commits suicide. They are weak and can't handle pressure.