I guess it happens everywhere.. at the engineering college of the local Universidad de la República (Uruguay), there is a first-year course on advanced calculus which serves as a filter (1500 go in... maybe 50 graduate), because as it is a "free" (as in, you don't have to pay) university and resources are scarce, they need to weed out people somehow.
The result is that poor students from inland, whose parents make financial sacrifices to support them (living in the capital is very expensive for them, and the classes are structured so you can't have a side job) have committed suicide (2 in the years I was there) from being unable to pass that course (I never passed it either, so I switched what you would call "majors" in the US)
The result is that poor students from inland, whose parents make financial sacrifices to support them (living in the capital is very expensive for them, and the classes are structured so you can't have a side job) have committed suicide (2 in the years I was there) from being unable to pass that course (I never passed it either, so I switched what you would call "majors" in the US)