Kota: Rising Student Suicides Paint Worrisome Picture In 'Coaching City,' Experts Weigh In

Jaipur: The hub of the county’s budding and aspiring technocrats and medicos, the coaching city of Kota is going through a serious problem of suicidal attempts of coaching students. The toll of such incidents reached 20 in the last eight months on Thursday after a 17-year-old JEE aspirant allegedly died by suicide and what is worrisome is that he was third in around 10 days.

As per the reports, this number is equal to the total number of student suicides in Kota in 2018. The data reveals that more than 70 students have committed suicide in Kota since 2018.

Kota is the hub for Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) aspirants across the country that is generating an estimated annual revenue of Rs 5,000 crore with many coaching institutes, hostels, PGs, tiffin centers, and numerous other service providers.

A worrisome picture

Apart from this glossy picture, the stories of those who lost their life under the pressure of their parents' expectations, their aspirations, and cutthroat competition are worrisome.

Manish Prajapati (17) of Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, who committed suicide this Thursday had not attempted his last monthly test. His father came to meet him and stayed for three days was reportedly annoyed with this and within four hours he left Kota, Manish hung himself.

There are many such stories. Some leave a suicide note and express their pain while some pass away without sharing anything.

Students from all over India come to Kota after completing their 10th or 12th grade to enroll in coaching institutes that prepare them for highly competitive entrance exams of JEE and NEET.

However, the demanding nature of their studies, changed mode of teaching coupled with being away from their families, lead to significant stress for some students.

Dr Harish Sharma, a senior psychologist associated with a reputed coaching institute of Kota said,"The study and teaching pattern of these competitive exams is entirely different from the pattern of school-level studies as the standards of studies are very high in IITs and medical colleges. Sometimes students find it difficult to adjust to this."

Stressing upon a strong foundation, Sharma noted, "We counsel both students and parents and tell them about the basic needs for staying in Kota for these studies but what is needed is a strong foundation both in terms of studies and in nurturance."

Isolation, homesickness also lead to suicides

Experts find that apart from high levels of academic pressure and stress due to the intense competition, there are some other factors also that lead the students to take the extreme step.

Nishtha Jain, a clinical psychologist based in Jaipur said that factors like isolation, homesickness, and the fear of failure can contribute to the vulnerability of students.

"The transition from the Covid era to going back to educational institutions has also resulted in adjustment concerns for students," she said, pointing out a new dimension of the problem.

Jain said that preventing suicides in Kota involves a multifaceted approach that addresses both the academic pressures and the mental well-being of students.

The administration and the police in Kota have issued many guidelines to prevent such incidents but seem helpless as more than 10 cases have been reported during the last five years comprising two years of the Covid-19 pandemic when there were very few students left in the city.

Additional Superintendent of Police and in-charge of Students Cell Chandrsheel Thakur agreed that the problem was multifaceted and needed a comprehensive approach.

"We are going among students, talking to them in an informal setting but we found that they are reluctant to share anything, still, we are carrying out a study of suicide cases and different aspects of the problem to find out an effective solution," he said.