Pushed to the edge: what can we do about student burnout?
Madhuri Katti
Recently, I noticed a student’s WhatsApp status that read – ‘Very Exhausted’. Usually, when we think of school students, we think of bright, happy smiles and boundless energy. Why is there a mismatch between our mental image of a school student and the reality? Why are our students ‘very exhausted’?
Student burnout has become a pressing concern in India and other parts of Asia, where there is a lot of emphasis on academic performance. According to the Cambridge dictionary, burnout is “extreme tiredness or mental or physical illness caused by working too hard or trying to do too much”. So, it is a state of chronic physical and emotional exhaustion, which is often accompanied by a feeling of cynicism and detachment, which in turn impacts academic performance and overall wellbeing.
Burnout in students is a physio-psychological condition which often remains undiagnosed and/or untreated. It requires comprehensive assessment by mental health professionals who use the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) or Student Burn-out Inventory (SBI), questionnaires, and clinical interviews to assess the presence and level of stress. There is considerable disagreement about including burnout as a diagnosed condition among mental health professionals and practitioners. There are countries like Netherlands that recognize it as a medical condition, but others treat symptoms like anxiety, stress, insomnia, depression, etc., symptomatically instead of looking at it as a case of burnout.
The identified causes of student burnout are academic pressure, lack of emotional and academic support, inability to balance studies and personal life, lack of awareness about coping mechanisms, family issues, and societal and peer pressures. The consequences of a burnout are very evident – lower academic grades, mental and physical health problems which lead to social withdrawal, poor self-esteem, and lack of self-confidence.
Ask any school-going child about their daily routine and they are likely to tell you that they go to school, then to a coaching centre, from there to hobby classes, and then to another tuition class, so by the time they get home they are completely exhausted, but they cannot rest! There are those ‘homework’ and ‘assessment’ monsters that they need to tackle, apart from working for the upcoming school events, fests, etc. In trying to ensure that our children use their time productively, we are pushing them to the brink of collapse.
We believe that this kind of a lifestyle will help our children get good grades, do well in entrance exams, get lots of extracurricular and hobby related brownie points for their CVs and Statements of Purpose (SOP), which will eventually lead them to decent colleges and universities followed by good jobs. In all of this, where do they have the time to explore their passions? Where is the time to be bored, to dream, to imagine, and rejuvenate?
Once, a bunch of class 7 students complained to me that they were being forced to join one of the (in)famous tutorials, so that they could be groomed for the toughest of entrance exams, and this at the cost of hobby lessons they really loved. If students are being trained right from middle school for exams they will be writing much later in life, burnout is but an obvious by-product. The constant performance pressure that exists in coaching centres can itself lead to low self-esteem and lack of confidence. The teacher-to-student ratio in some of these centres is similar to that in public schools, and so the teacher does not have the time to attend to each student. This means when they don’t understand concepts or cannot solve worksheets, students end up at a second tuition, robbing them of their time for rest or play.
Our kids are not only getting physically and mentally exhausted, but they also have started functioning on an auto-pilot mode. Once, I had accompanied my students on their annual excursion. Most of them came expecting adventure sports amidst the wild. Instead, when we took them on a forest safari, they seemed very dejected. The complaint was – there is nothing worth doing! In a place that was home to a rich biodiversity, students didn’t know how to respond or connect with nature! A year later, we took them to the seaside, they had the same reaction – they wanted organized sea-sports; the sea otherwise bored them. Isn’t this alarming?
The basic attributes expected of any learner are curiosity, engagement, collaboration, and independent thinking. But learner attributes often get reduced to another set of boxes to be ticked for the report card comments and letters of reference for college admissions. At the end of the day, schools and parents are focussed on that one dream trajectory – good grades followed by top-class universities and secure job prospects. Even though there are many options for a career today, our children tend to mirror parental and societal expectations. That’s what they have grown up with and internalized. The purpose of all education and schooling has been narrowed down to materialistic goals, which leads to further cynicism and exhaustion.
Academic pressure in high school is palpable particularly in the early part of the year as a lot of high stakes exams which determine admissions to top universities and institutes tend to happen then. In populous countries like India and China, the ratio of the number of candidates to the number of seats in medical or engineering colleges is extremely low (approx: 0.26 or 26% was the selection ratio for JEE 2022). Hence, the mad rush to enroll in additional coaching classes that train students specifically for these competitive exams. If they plan to go abroad, the challenges of getting through the admission process is equally gruelling. The idea that this grind prepares them for the rigour of the university isn’t quite encouraging either, for they realize that there is no end to this toil – it is like the myth of Sisyphus – they have to follow the same routine every day throughout high school and perhaps later in life.
Apart from academic pressure, students face parental and peer pressure as well. According to a senior educator I spoke to, “Today, the tuition culture is a form of self-satisfaction as well as status symbol. Everyone whether they need extra help or not are put in tuitions, which is extremely problematic. No one is getting time to play or pursue some relaxing hobbies after or before school, because they are always studying. Children are bound to feel mentally exhausted.”
In the new age of social media, it is not just the peers from the same school or neighbourhood, there are peers from all over the globe with whom students feel they have to compete. Negative factors like stress, academic, and social and peer pressure may lead to a delay in forming a sense of identity, self, and belonging. They don’t feel a sense of connection either with themselves or with the world. They prefer to remain on the chosen path, which they think will lead to greener pastures, even if it means following a rigorous routine and studies they don’t enjoy.
Emotionally – being constantly driven by anxiety – has its own consequences. If anxiety is within limits, it is an enabler, as depicted in the recent Inside Out movie sequel, but once it goes out of control, it leads to havoc. Moreover, the teenage years are also the time of transition to adulthood, so hormones are also on overdrive. Unfortunately, neither the parents nor the teachers notice any symptoms of burnout until it is too late. Fatigue and tiredness are often perceived as laziness, while procrastination is seen as laziness and a lack of self-discipline.
Teenagers are largely misunderstood as they are expected to be grown up enough to understand the adults around them and meet their demands, which they are told is for their own good. Also, often, most of the parents’ savings are invested in their child’s career without proper judgement about their abilities and interests. So the poor children are wrecked with guilt if they slack or are genuinely disinterested.
A lack of emotional and physical health awareness and management is causing an alarming increase in the number of student suicides. According to national statistics as seen in the pie-chart below (published in The Wire), students suicide accounted for nearly 8 percent of all suicides in 2020, with the rate only rising every year. These are reported numbers, and the reality may be grimmer. The number of suicides reported just before and after board and competitive exams are noticeably higher.
This situation also leads to students becoming socially awkward as most of their time is invested in studies. They cannot handle failures as they lack the social skills to adjust to changed realities. Their ambitions get reduced to one single dream and they tend to become myopic to all other options and possibilities. Since their sense of self and inner voice is often negative, they lack the confidence that is needed to live by themselves after they qualify to get into their dream courses. Free from all the constraints and gruelling routines, they are suddenly expected to handle and manage their free time and life. But wait, when did we even let them manage their free time and have a free will? If a child is not emotionally well-balanced, has not developed a strong sense of self, internal compass and affirmative inner voice, they cannot navigate in the real world; they will need time and support to become balanced, mature individuals.
It is also during this campus life that they discover their inner talents, passions, and desires. If the inner calling is strong enough, they drop out of the courses. There are many instances of students becoming successful authors, artists, filmmakers, musicians, etc. A seat for which more than a 1000 students were vying is wasted and so also all the time and energy that was spent in chasing the illusions of the right career.
Student burnout and fatigue have become the proverbial elephant in the room that no one wants to address. There are some boards, brave educationists and education entrepreneurs and even the new NEP that are trying to weave in ‘wellbeing’ as a hidden part of the curriculum, but anything that becomes part of the daily drill, comes with certain checkboxes to be ticked. There will be no change in the situation unless we devote time to our youngsters and let them have the freedom to figure things out for themselves and create their own future. We educators and parents need to step back from holding the control buttons and transition to becoming their support systems and have their back even if their plans fail. Give them freedom and they will learn to be responsible. Alternative learning ecosystems like Beyond 8, homeschooling, and age-old value and ethics-based education models of Krishnamurti Foundation Schools (KFI) are thriving because educators and parents now understand what is really at stake – the lives of our future generations. But these institutions can cater only to the cross-section of the society that can make this brave choice. For the larger population, education is the only passport that can alleviate them from poverty, caste, and other discriminatory shackles. How can we make a change for the larger population and save talented bright young minds?
Maybe the hype around certain niche exams and courses as routes to a successful life should be addressed seriously. Marketing and sales strategies of coaching centres should be monitored as they create a delusion of success without acknowledging cases of those who cannot cope. Removing ceiling fans and door locks or using ceiling fans with springs are not going to deter suicides. It is tragic that we have reduced the solution to such acts. What about the troubled and tired bright minds? They need direct intervention and support of qualified mental health professionals.
Finally, we must remember that the right nutrition to mind and body is extremely essential during the teenage years as is the strength that will last them for a lifetime. Educators and parents need to be sensitized. More funds need to be allocated to affordable higher education to ensure that every student has a plethora of options available for pursuing higher studies which are linked to various industries, other public and private job and service sectors.
Moreover, we are living in an age where the world is facing multiple crises from climate change to conflicts. We must be mindful and hopeful while creating and addressing awareness about these issues with our learners and children. There are reports of climate anxiety and a pandemic of cynicism and anger around the globe. Students are also facing unforeseen instances of exam paper leak, cancellations of exams and/or results, leading to growing skepticism, trauma, and frustration among the aspirants. They need to trust the selection processes and systems in place. This trust deficit needs to be addressed and mitigated. It is our collective responsibility to save our children, their future, and the planet they will inherit. It is best to be as realistic as possible. Moreover, their futures cannot be imagined in the current times as rapid technological developments are going to change the skillsets required for future jobs. We should shape them to be keen learners and critical thinkers who can adapt themselves to the new world they will inherit.
Student burnout requires a comprehensive and collaborative approach. By fostering a supportive and balanced educational ecosystem and home environment, we can help our youngsters achieve their dreams without compromising their mental and physical wellbeing. The recent case studies and data (see Reference 1 and 2) underscore the urgent need for reforms and support systems to address and reduce the impact of student burnout.
Let us not forget these golden words by Khalil Gibran:
“And he said:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.”
– From The Prophet (Knopf, 1923).
References
- Wei, X., Wang, R., & MacDonald, E. (2015). Exploring the Relations between Student Cynicism and Student Burnout. Psychological Reports, 117(1), 103-115. https://doi.org/10.2466/14.11.PR0.117c14z6.
- Jagiello, T., Belcher, J., Neelakandan, A. et al.Academic Stress Interventions in High Schools: A Systematic Literature Review. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev(2024).
- https://poets.org/poem/children-1.
- https://thewire.in/rights/academic-distress-and-student-suicides-in-india.
The author is a physics educator and freelance writer with interests in teaching, learning methodologies, experiential learning, global issues and science history. She is also a photography, heritage, and archives enthusiast. She is currently an Imagin8er and Learning Facilitator at Beyond 8, Bangalore Home Centre. She can be reached at madkat70@gmail.com.
