17-Year-Old Girl Kills Herself After Father Was Unable To Pay $9 School Fee

A 17-year-old schoolgirl reportedly killed herself after her parents were unable to pay a school fee amounting to US$9 (7,000 Indian Rupees) in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India on Tuesday, May 3.

The teen, identified as R Brinda, from Lingam street in Madhavaram, was reportedly upset that her parents could not afford to pay her school fees. Unable to face the ridicule of her peers, Brinda seemingly decided to take her own life at her residence while her parents were away for work on Tuesday, May 3, the New Indian Express reported.

The investigating officers initially suspected that she took the drastic step due to a fear of facing the board exams, which began on Thursday, May 5. However, her family stated that Brinda likely killed herself after slumping into a deep depression over being bullied by her classmates.

Brinda's father Radhakrishnan works as a tailor and her mother is a day laborer. The family had reportedly not paid Brinda's school fee for the last term, and due to their poor economic condition, Radhakrishnan had borrowed money from some of his friends to make ends meet.

In a similar but unrelated incident, a 16-year-old girl reportedly killed herself after scoring poor marks in an examination in Jawaddi Kalan, Punjab, India on April 3.

The teenager, identified as Harneet Kaur, a 10th-grade school student, was reportedly eagerly waiting to know the results of her pre-board examination. However, when the result came out on April 2, Kaur realized that she had scored poorly in the examination. Kaur, who reportedly became upset over her performance, decided to end her life, Latin Times reported.

The next day, on Sunday, April 3, Kaur allegedly hung herself from a noose tied to a ceiling fan at her house. Kaur's younger sister later found the teen's lifeless body and alerted her parents. The girl's family immediately rushed her to a private hospital for treatment. However, doctors at the facility declared her dead upon arrival.

“Harneet was a Class X student and wanted to pursue medical in Class XI. She was upset after the pre-board results were declared,” Inspector Labh Singh, Station House Officer (SHO) of Dugri Police Station, said.