There is nothing more tragic than the death of a young student. And whether you work as a principal in a large school or a vice-chancellor in a university, hardly a month goes by without that dreaded call to your home or the office - another young student took his or her own life, or tried to do so. Immediately all kinds of queries come flooding through your mind about those who died - "She had so much potential; why would she take her own life?" Or, "He had everything going for him, why?" And more commonly, "There were absolutely no signs of trouble. He was still laughing and making plans for the future last night. How did this happen?"story_article_left1The statistics tell a different story. Teen suicides, and attempted suicides, are more common than we think, especially among teenagers. We are told that more than 9% of all teen deaths are due to suicide, that the suicide rate has more than doubled for children 10-14 years old.There is no one reason, say the experts.Depression seems to be an underlying cause, among mental health problems. Stress is a huge factor among youth. New forms of harassment, such as cyber bullying, are known to drive vulnerable young people over the edge.Divorce of parents and generally unstable family lives are often cited as causes. Struggles with sexual identity are very real. And then there are older, familiar triggers such as substance abuse.Nor can suicide be stereotyped. Suicide, including teenage suicide, is a raceless, genderless and classless problem. Middle class and poor, white and black, men and women, do it. It affects all of us.What we should learn from these tragedies is the importance of not being judgmental. It is easy to look negatively on young people driven to suicide.block_quotes_start Too much of it can drive some youths to hurt themselves, and nothing, absolutely nothing, is worth that block_quotes_endWhy did they not ask for help? Why not reach out to friends? Why not think about the consequences for those left behind? Not only are those questions unhelpful in the aftermath of a lost life, they lack understanding, and even empathy with the young person.We are all wired differently, to begin with. Nobody comes into this life with a plan to get out of it. No surviving person can possibly know the enormous pain and suffering that individuals bear before taking their most precious possession, a life. Tolerance levels vary from one individual to the next, even in the same family.So what can be done? I believe every school and university - and indeed every organisation - should make public the 24/7 options available to teenagers under pressure, from counselling resources to pastoral services to a working hotline.story_article_right2We must be proactive rather than wait for another sad report of a young person who left us.We could work on destigmatising mental health problems and on building more inclusive school and campus cultures.And we must work on making educational institutions less stressful.The culture of testing produces tremendous pressure, especially on those who fear failing and those who fear not meeting the very high standards they set for themselves.I cannot remember how often I had to counsel students who scored less than 80% or 90% in a subject.Pressure, say the experts, is a good thing. Too much of it can drive some youths to hurt themselves, and nothing, absolutely nothing, is worth that.Jansen is vice-chancellor and rector of the University of the Free State...