Of the sample, 150 were SB students; of these, 80.64 per cent showed incidence of depression. Scholastic backwardness was found to be maximum in children in the age group of 12-14 yrs of age. Its incidence was found to be more in boys as compared to girls - 115 boys and 35 girls out of 150. One reason, explained Dr Patnekar, is the preferential treatment given to boys over girls in Indian society, due to which they tend to be more laidback and take theireducation for granted.

The study also delineates how students' health affects their school performance. Among the SB group, 71.92 per cent suffered from anaemia, whereas just 25.07 per cent among SG students have anaemia. More instances of epilepsy were reported among SB group (69.56 per cent) than SG group (30.43 per cent). Among epileptic students, those taking long term anticonvulsant therapy also had significantly lowered scholastic performance, said the paper.

Children with low birth weight (LBW) or with neonatal complications tended to show greater difficulty in academic performance, and more fared poorly on tests of linguistic ability, problem solving, auditory or visual attention and concentration. Only 14.28 per cent among SG students reported LBW as against 85.71 per cent among SB students. Similarly, the percentage of chronic illness was significantly higher in the SB group than in the SG group.

The socio-economic position of the student's family, the parents' educational status and parentalconflict were also found to hinder intellectual exchange at home. But simply making a child repeat a failed grade rarely has any benefits and often seriously undercuts the child's self-esteem, Dr Shaharao has observed.

Pointed out Dr Patnekar, the problem of medium of instruction in the school and the language the student is expected to master is one of the major problems contributing to scholastic backwardness especially in a multi-cultural city like Mumbai.

Added Dr Anjali Chhabria, a mental health professional, depression is not even limited to children. ``Parents frustrated over their children's performance end up being depressed as well,'' she pointed out. And explaining the gender differences among SB children she said, ``Males have more instances of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder due to genetic reasons. This explains why there are more SB males. The solution lies in parents becoming less pushy in thrusting their ambitions onto their children, and giving them adequate motivation instead,''felt Dr Chhabria.