This is horrible, but it's clear to me that this is just more than "a software error". Is being a student so hard in India that failing an exam causes people to commit suicide? In that case the problem is way bigger than "a software error".<p>Don't get me wrong, I understand that these deaths could have been prevented if the software errors hadn't happened; but the serious problem that should be addressed, in this case, is not the presence of these errors.
Even in Nepal, many students committed suicide every year when they failed the SLC (School Leaving Certificate) exam. Since a few years ago the education board changed the grading system from percentage based to grade based. Previously the results would be published on a national daily, and only the symbol number of students who passed the exam would appear. AKA public humiliation of children of the age 14-17 mostly.<p>Now the system has changed; no student fails, they only obtain certain grade. If (s)he would like to increase their grades in certain subject they can re-appear the exam and increase their grades. This has been a successful change, saving probably hundreds of innocent lives.
The standard deviation combined with a large population means any automated system targeting the populace is ethically bound to increase the number of nines it must put in to ensure quality. This means having the necessary checks, balances, redundancies. 23 out of 320000 is still too many.<p>Abstraction - in this case the govt wanting to offload the logistics of exams - requires the govt to retain sufficient visibility and checks into the process. I believe the education board isn't that naive to not do that.<p>The issue is that in India, graduation can mean the difference between poverty and at least a modest livelihood. Sometime ago I read an article where the journalist argued that that motivation for going to college in the US isn't high 'cos you can have a middle class living without a degree. In India, and perhaps in China too, that doesn't happen.<p>The eye to see potential in people and invest in them instead of using metrics like exam marks would go a long way. As another poster noted, the new India isn't that naive to think that marks are the end all, but for many it continues to play a significant role in their aspirations. The more examples of independence that get publicised, the more our young will be inspired.<p>Edit: fixed total number.
I don't know if I would say it caused them. There are many complex and massive problems that are far more to blame for these suicides. This is like saying WWI and II were caused by Gavrilo Princip.
I find it hard to blame the software error for this. Of course it's tragic that these kids killed themselves over a wrong result, but what about the kids who do the same after actually failing their exams?<p>Blaming the software for the extreme pressure and stress feels like a cop-out to me, especially after reading that (at least) this one student had the option to redo the exams.<p>Software can have bugs, people can make mistakes, mistaken bad grades happen regardless of whether software is involved or not. The real cause for the deaths of these people is the pressure put on them/they put on themselves, and the value people assign to these grades.
I went through this Telangana's educational system mentioned in the article, but before the "software upgrades", they used to whoop kids asses even in 11 and 12th grades, somehow I got through the system without much psychological damage.<p>Apart from than test pressures, there is also tuition pressure, our family was too poor to pay the fees on time, so they would ask whoever is not up-to-date with fees to stand up in the middle of class and ask us when we will be paying. Me and my other friends dealt with it by using humor to deal with poorness.
People working on automation systems have a special responsibility, because any small mistakes can be multiplied by the scale the system is used at.<p>Programming should have a code of ethics.
We need to build a world without exams. A world where curiosity is encouraged and rewarded. A world where all school lessons start with a goal of building something tangible and relevant at the end of it. Something a student can care about and be proud of.
In India, the identity of a student is defined by his grade. It's too bad students score grades that are not sufficient to satisfy the ego of their parents/relatives/society.
It takes a lot of time for people to discover that they are not limited by their grades. People who never discover that, define their children using the same yardstick.<p>It's really sickening. I really wish the parents understand that the real world is more about collaboration than competition.<p>Anyone interested in truly understanding what education is - please read this book "totto-chan , the little girl at the window".
India has an often criticized reservation system where 50-60% of seats in colleges/universities are allotted to people from lower castes. This puts enormous pressure on economically backward kids from upper castes who have to score upwards of 98% to get admitted whereas a person from a lower caste can get admitted by scoring just about 50%.