Mumbai teacher’s daughter fails, commits suicide

Mid-Day

Mumbai, 02 May 2010: Fifteen-year-old Divya Solanki, a student of DPYA High School in Mumbai, committed suicide on Saturday morning, after she found that she had failed in Social Studies by three marks.

This was the second time that Solanki was held back in the same class. Her mother Charusheela Solanki, a teacher, said, "Divya went into shock when she found out the results."

Solanki approached the school principal to convince her to give her daughter three grace marks.

"I consoled Divya and told her that she could give her SSC examinations externally," said the grieving mother. "She told me that she wanted to go home and sleep for some time, so I dropped her home." Solanki had asked her sister-in-law to keep an eye on her daughter.

A little later, she received a call from her sister-in-law who panicked when she found that Divya had locked herself in the house. Solanki called her husband, who rushed home and broke open the door to find Divya hanging from the ceiling using a dupatta.

Divya’s friend who didn’t wish to be named said, "She was a quiet, understanding girl. She was not impulsive, which is why this incident is shocking."

"In our school, we give grace marks if students fail by just a few points, especially if in just one subject. This is terrible on the school’s part. In fact, nobody from the school arrived to pay their last respects," Solanki’s colleagues said.

"The principal said the school had a good reputation and the class 10 pass percentage might fall if they allowed such students to pass," said Divya’s friend, requesting anonymity.