Kota: Amid strict mitigation measures adopted by the government, at least 147 competitive examination aspirants have died by suicide in the last 10 years in coaching hub Kota in Rajasthan with experts attributing the suicides to various factors.
According to official data, since 2014 till date, 147 students coaching for various competitive examinations have died by suicide. These include 14 suicides in 2014, 23 in 2015, 17 in 2016, 7 in 2017, 20 in 2018, 8 in 2019, 4 in 2020, 4 in 2021, 20 in 2022, 25 in 2023 and 5 this year so far.
Why Are Students Dying by Suicide in Kota: According to senior psychiatrist Dr ML Aggarwal, there are various factors for suicides among students at Kota. These include pressure of succeeding in the exams due to nuclear family, heavy expenses incurred during studies in Kota, failing in the exams despite multiple attempts which leads to psychological weakness, family suicide history, low communication skills, mental illnesses, home sickness, attraction towards opposite gender, tight study schedule, pornography, smartphones, gaming and social media.
Mitigation Measures: Education expert Dev Sharma primarily suggested to motivate yourself to choose a career option as per your capabilities and aptitude. “Do not choose engineering or medical just because others are choosing it. Always keep Plan B ready in your life. Children should understand that apart from medical and engineering, there is scope in many other fields also,” Sharma suggested.
He also emphasized the role of counseling to tackle the issue of suicides among children. “It is necessary to stop videos of incidents like suicide from going viral very quickly on social media. Students having a negative mindset are also inspired to take such steps,” he said.
Sharma further advised students to stay away from social media. “It would be better if mobile phones were used only for studies. Students feel stressed due to pressure from society and family. Keep talking to the parents as well as family members,” he said.
He further asked parents to keep motivating the children continuously and also keep asking them if they are facing any dilemma. He also advised the students at the same time to consult a psychologist or a psychiatrist and counselor.
“Students should be explained that their competition is not with others but with themselves,” he said.
City Superintendent of Police, Kota, Faculty of Hostel and Coaching, Dr Amrita Duhan said that after any suicide in a hostel or PG, she herself goes and tries to find out the reason from the operators of hostels to fix responsibility.
The SP City said that Police presence is being increased among the children, so that children can share their problems in case of any kind of dilemma.
She said that Counselors have been hired in the coaching institutes of Kota for the children to counsel the students. Besides, fee refund policy has been started at the coaching institutes of Kota and similarly, a policy has been made for security refund to the students in hostels also, the SP said.
District Collector Ravindra Goswami has started the Dinner with Collector campaign in Kota even as a Women squad has been formed to help the students. Anti-suicide rods have been installed at every hostel in the city. The district administration has started a survey of hostels in the city under which it is being assessed whether anti-suicide rods are installed in the hostel rooms or not.
Guidelines by Centre: The Central Government has also issued guidelines for coaching institutes in a bid to prevent suicides among the students. According to the guidelines, children below 16 years of age are barred from enrolling in the coaching centres.
The guidelines issued by the Central and State Government also stipulate five days of study, holiday on festivals, no admission to underage children, ban on selection claims, not making the results of in-house test public, parent teacher meeting every three months, CCTV surveillance, complete monitoring of student's attendance, admission through screening test and fee refund policy among others.
