On 2 November, Aishwarya Reddy, a second-year BSc Mathematics student from Lady Shri Ram College for Women died by suicide at her residence in Telangana’s Ranga Reddy district. What forced the 19-year-old meritorious student from a prestigious college in Delhi to take her own life?
She left an apologetic note behind in Telugu saying “Because of me, my family is facing many financial problems. I am a burden for my family. My education is a burden. If I can’t study, I can’t live.”
As this prompted a demand for justice outside the college gate, and fundraising initiatives from students to help their lesser privileged peers, this also perhaps is a moment of reckoning for the educational system to acknowledge how the pandemic has widened an already-existing divide in the education sector.