20 students commit suicide after exam results say they failed

20 students in India killed themselves last week after an IT glitch reportedly led to them receiving results indicating that they’d failed their exams.

Almost one million students wrote the exam in February and March in Telangana State and 350 000 youngsters reportedly failed, Fox News reports.

Widespread protest from parents, student groups and political parties caused the local government to investigate the issue.

“There were technical glitches in the software,” N. Narayana, president of a parents association, told the Indian Express.

“It appears the whole process was full of mistakes. Unfortunately, due to these mistakes, students who failed are taking their lives.”

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao of Telangana told local media that they’re currently re-counting and re-verifying the exam scripts of those who failed and has begged students not to take their own lives, New York Post reports.

“In the first year, my son topped the exams, but now his marks are in single digits. I don’t know what to do,” said one parent during a protest.

“I have assured him that everything will be sorted out. But what if he too harms himself?”

In one extreme case a student named Sirisha, who failed biology, set herself on fire at home, while another boy threw himself in front of a train.

This is the highest number of exam-related suicides in four years in India.

Sources: News.com.au, NY Post, Fox