Students were told to sign the suicide disclaimer letter after a series of meetings. - Illustrative photo: Shutterstock
BEIJING: A secondary school in China has come under fire for requiring its students to sign a written promise that if they kill or injure themselves their decision was not related to the place of learning.
This commitment was proposed by Shuizhai Middle School in Wuhua county, southern Guangdong province.
It has been circulated widely on social media after being shared by a parent who said he had also alerted the authorities about it, the Yangcheng Evening News reported.
Amid public pressure, the local Education Department launched an investigation before issuing a statement on December 25, the report said.
The investigation found that the school held discussion meetings in all classes on December 23 on the topic of cherishing life.
After the meetings, all students were required to sign the letter of commitment which contains “inappropriate contents”, the department said.
“I promise: I will always cherish life, and respect life. I will never give up my life for any reason. Instead, I will keep on fighting and working hard with an optimistic attitude,” the commitment letter reads.
It continues: “If I commit the action of self-injuring or suicide, it has nothing to do with the school. Myself, my parents or my guardians will not claim any loss or ask for any compensation from the school or school staff, nor will they disturb the school’s teaching.”
The authority said it has urged the school to withdraw the letter and to annul the commitment it contains.
The school management were told to explain the incident to its students and their parents.
“In the future, we are planning to push all schools in the region to improve their educational methodspsychological and pay attention to students’ psychological well-being,” the education department said.
The letter has sparked a wave of criticism online.
One netizen said: “This school has crossed all moral boundaries. Its actions are beyond my imagination.”
“This kind of promise letter should absolutely be cancelled. Otherwise, there would be no humanity at school. The school should try to prevent tragedies like self-injury or suicide from happening rather than relying on a promise letter to shirk its responsibilities.”
Teenage student suicide due to the pressure to succeed academically are not uncommon in China.
Last year, a 13-year-old girl in Chongqing, southwestern China killed herself by jumping from a high-rise building outside her secondary school.
Her parents sued the school and sought compensation, claiming that negligence was behind her death.
A court ruled against the parents’ request for compensation on the grounds that there was no evidence to support it. - South China Morning Post
***Those contemplating suicide can reach out to the Mental Health Psychosocial Support Service (03-2935 9935/ 014-322 3392); Talian Kasih (15999/ 019-261 5999 on WhatsApp); Jakim’s family, social and community care centre (011-1959 8214 on WhatsApp); or Befrienders Kuala Lumpur (03-7627 2929/email sam@befrienders.org.my/visit www.befrienders.org.my/centre- in-malaysia).
