Punishment no solution, work on mental health, say experts

Tribune news service

neha saini

Amritsar, September 13

In five days, two incidents in which students circulated false threatening messages to bomb schools have undoubtedly stunned parents, teachers, police personnel and civil society.

Early intervention in most cases can be corrective. These cases indicate the need for intervention programs in schools, communities and even making counseling an integral part of the school infrastructure. Dr. Priyanka Khot, psychiatrist

On September 7, two students at DAV Public School, Lawrence Road, were found behind the hoax bomb only to close the school for the day to evade exams. Five days later, a similar case arose at Spring Dale School. This time too, two students were found behind him to evade the exam.

Police Commissioner Arun Pal Singh has contacted different schools, who want help from the police to make students aware of cybercrime.

In the case of the DAV school students, they were released with a warning since they were minors. But the second incident resulted in police filing FIRs against the parents of the students responsible for the act. The DAV school administration restored the students and the Spring Dale school administration is also willing to take strict action against the responsible students.

Dr. Priyanka Khot, a psychiatrist who specializes in child and adolescent psychology, says that multiple factors can be responsible for children behaving or acting in self-destructive or violent ways. “Punishment, in most of these cases, works only as a short-term solution, where the real cause of such behavior can be overlooked. While there is no specific answer as to why these students did such a thing, whether or not they were aware of its consequences, the problem really does require collaborative intervention from police, administration, schools, teachers and parents.”

In addition to children, parents and teachers also need training to manage any emotional or psychological changes in children, she says, adding that one in seven children between the ages of 10 and 17 faces mental health problems.

“One needs to identify and early intervention in most cases can be corrective. Various incidents, such as the murder of a student in Nuh by a peer or another similar incident in UP, point to the need to establish intervention programs in schools, communities and even make counseling an integral part of the school infrastructure. Training teachers in managing aggressive behavior and challenging behavior could help in such extreme activities. Parents need to be told to seek expert help for their children, to identify any challenging or violent behavior at home,” she says.

Dr. JPS Bhatia, a neuropsychologist at Bhatia Hospital, says that technological detoxification and communication are the key to tracking changes in a child’s behavior. “Psychodiagnostic evaluation and training for parents and teachers can help in the long term to minimize such acts,” he adds.