Kids go missing for fear of results

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">It''s a busy time ahead for the Missing Persons Squad of the Kolkata Police. The police are already gearing up as a number of teenagers seem to go missing just before the declaration of class X and XII results. While these children are below 18 years of age, they mostly belong to reputed schools in the city and affluent households.<br /><br />"Usually these kids go missing just before the results and it''s primarily due to the fear of bad results. However, we have observed that it''s a momentary fear which they succumb to and they do not go too far away from their homes. Usually, after a couple of days, they either return home or we find them," said a senior official of the Missing Persons Squad. According to the official, these runaway teenagers don''t carry much cash and often return due to hunger. <br /><br />In the past one year, about 1,522 children ran away from their homes in Kolkata. According to police sources, about 25 per cent of these children go missing just prior to the class X and XII board examination results. "In certain cases, we recommend some of these children to undergo counselling from our trained officers. Otherwise, we also ask the concerned parents to take their kids for proper counselling sessions. The reasons for such flights from home are primarily sociological causes," said Damayanti Sen, deputy commissioner, detective department (special). <br /><br />According to both Kolkata police and child welfare organisations in the city, the rising number of missing children every year is a pointer to the imbalances in the families and lapses on part of the parents. "Sometimes, a child decision of running away is taken at the spur of the moment and we might find him sitting alone at a nearby park," said a police official. <br /><br />Psychotherapist Lalitha Jalan feels that there are a few reasons at play in such cases. First, when they suffer guilt or fear of not performing well. Second, at times weaker students, who have high expectations, find it difficult to face reality for lack of confidence. The third group comprise of students who don''t study throughout the year and go missing for a couple of days as a way of putting pressure on parents in accepting their poor results. <br /><br />"Though parents think that it''s only the child to blame, they themselves need to be counselled at times. Technically, the whole family should undergo counselling in such cases," added Jalan. <br /><br />Though schools can play a pivotal role in guiding students through the tough path to board examinations, they sometimes end up exerting excessive pressure. "The pressure is purely from parents and peer groups and the urge from within to perform better. We also need to take a look at the way we evaluate progress result of students," said a spokesperson for South Point High School. <br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">madhurima.nandy@timesgroup.com</span></div> </div>