Each day is worse than the last, and it feels like we can’t take another day without bad news popping up. Another parent hears about the death of their child. A school announces how much it cares about student welfare. Another inquiry reveals that complaints were registered weeks or months ago and were ignored. The circle repeats so frequently now that it hardly gets acknowledged as news anymore.
The children aren’t forgetting, though. They’re watching what happens when a kid speaks up and nothing changes. They’re learning that schools protect themselves first and children second. Children, who should be concerned about their studies and friendships, are realising that adults are not really in control.
The fatalities have been following one after another this year. And each of them conveys the same story, a child’s constant suffering and a system so used to disregarding them.
A Hard Look at Bullying in 2025
In 2025, bullying-related student deaths continue across India. Teachers are receiving complaints from parents and doing nothing. Schools are finding out about harassment weeks after it started and deciding not to intervene. Children are going to adults for help and are being turned away. Then those children are dying.
The pattern is always similar. A kid tells a teacher they’re being bullied. The teacher tells them to adjust or ignore it. The bullying continues. The child tells the teacher again. Again, nothing happens. Eventually, the child stops telling anyone. They manage it by themselves; however, when they are not able to do so, in the worst kinds of situations, it results in a loss of hope and giving up.
Bullying by all means is surely not a new issue. But what’s saddening is that it’s 2025 and there’sresources all around, but schools still cannot find ways to cope. The same excuses keep appearing. “We didn’t know it was that serious.” “We thought the child would handle it.” “We were going to address it next week.”
Next week never comes.
How Bullying Gets Ignored in Schools
Here’s what’s maddening: schools have procedures for this. They’re supposed to have anti-bullying committees. Teachers are supposed to be trained. In theory, there should be repercussions associated with such behaviour. However, if one observes the reality of the situation, it becomes quite apparent that the child’s protection is not really the main concern.
So what usually happens when a child complains of bullying? The school investigates slowly, if at all. Parents are told, “We’ll handle it,” and then nothing changes. The child keeps being bullied. The school keeps not acting. And when something catastrophic happens, suddenly everyone is shocked.
Teachers can be perpetrators themselves. A teacher can humiliate a student repeatedly, dismiss their pain, shout at them in front of peers, and face almost no consequences. Some teachers get suspended after a child dies. But suspension comes too late for that child.
The bullies themselves rarely face real punishment. A kid can torment someone for months, and the worst that might happen is a conversation with the principal. No consequences that actually mean something. No reason to change.
How Bullying Works
Bullying takes many forms. Verbal bullying is the most common, constant taunting, mockery, and name-calling. Some teachers think this is harmless. It’s not. A kid can internalise this stuff. Can start to believe it’s true.
Sexual bullying is becoming more common, especially among younger kids. Writing sexual comments about someone. Sharing intimate images without consent. Making sexual threats. Children as young as nine are being subjected to sexual harassment at school.
Then there’s cyberbullying. A comment made in class gets screenshot and shared with hundreds of people. A photo gets posted and mocked. Anonymous messages arrive constantly. The bullying follows a kid home. It’s there when they wake up. It never stops.
The response from families is often to blame the child. “Why are you letting them bother you?” “You need to be tougher.” “Just ignore them.” So the kid stops talking about it. They keep it inside. They think they’re weak for being hurt.
The Numbers Show the Trend
In 2023, India recorded 13,892 student suicides. That’s the most recent year-wide data available. It represented a 65 per cent increase over the past decade. When researchers looked at why, bullying came up repeatedly alongside academic pressure, caste discrimination, and toxic institutional culture.
For context: between 2019 and 2023, researchers found around 491 documented student suicides with bullying or institutional harassment cited as contributing factors. That’s roughly one documented case per week. The actual number is likely much higher—many deaths aren’t officially attributed to bullying even when complaints were filed.
The majority of victims were between 16 and 21 years old. But the age is dropping. Schools are failing younger and younger children.
What Must Change to Cut Down Bullying
Schools need to stop protecting themselves and start protecting kids. When a complaint comes in, investigate it. Don’t bury it, hoping it goes away. Listen to the child. Take it seriously. Act immediately.
Teachers need real training—not a PowerPoint they sit through once. They need to understand what bullying does to a young person. They need to know how to intervene. They need to create classrooms where cruelty doesn’t thrive.
Schools need to actually have counsellors. Not one counsellor manages 500 students. Counsellors with time to know their students. Counsellors who can catch someone in crisis and actually help them.
Bullies need consequences that mean something. Not because one has to be mean, but since it is necessary for them to find out that their actions have jarring consequences. If no actions are taken, bullying simply will become a part of their lives.
Parents need to stop blaming their kids for getting bullied. If your kid comes to you telling you that they are getting bullied, you trust them. You confront the school. You don’t give up until there is a change.
It is equally necessary for the government to put an end to it and to make sure that these rules are observed. Not just write them. Schools that ignore complaints should face penalties. Teachers who create toxic environments should face consequences. There needs to be actual accountability.
The Children Still Living This Reality
Right now, there are kids at your local school who are suffering. They might be hiding it perfectly. They might be smiling in family photos. But they’re dreading school. They’re losing sleep. They’re thinking things about themselves that aren’t true because they hear them constantly.
Few of them will make it through. Many will carry scars that last for decades. But some will give up.
Such tragedies cannot be stopped until we genuinely protect children through a system that works not only on paper but also in practice. More families will be destroyed. More notes will be found. We’ll all be shocked and grieve for a day or two, nothing will actually change, and then the cycle repeats.
The question is what we do now, knowing that. The answer should be obvious. But 2025 is proving that obvious answers don’t matter if nobody acts on them.
