Rise in Suicide Cases in Kota, What Led the Students to Take this Extreme Step? – News18

When it comes to coaching for engineering and medical entrance exams, Rajasthan’s Kota is among the most preferred destination for aspirants from across the country. Every year, a large number of students from the country enlist in various coaching institutes and begin their path toward their ambition. However, apart from the positive aspects of Kota, there is also a negative side as well.

Students who come to prepare for the competitive exams in the country’s coaching capital – face cut-throat competition, packed schedules, relentless pressure to do better and homesickness on a daily basis. Sometimes, the pressure to pass the competitive exam causes students to take desperate measures.

On July 17, a 17-year-old who arrived in Kota days ago to prepare for the medical entrance exam National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) died by suicide. On Sunday, Pushpendra Singh died by suicide by hanging himself in the hostel. He was from Rajasthan’s Jalore town, which is nearly 500 km away. This tragic incident has pushed the number of student suicides in Kota to 16 this year. According to reports, Singh came to Kota a week back and enrolled with a top coaching centre to prepare for NEET. So far, the police have not found any suicide note regarding the case and a probe into the matter is underway.

Relatives of the student, who came to collect his body, requested the administration to carefully intervene in the matter and also keep a check on the series of suicides. “We are asking, why is this happening in Kota? Children come happy from home, this child spoke to his parents happily, then why did he do this? why is this happening? Our child was in Class 11, he came here 7 days ago, and there was no stress,” the teenager’s uncle Indra Singh said as quoted by NDTV.

This incident has brought to light the troubling tendency of student suicides in the coaching capital. Many have attributed the stress of studies and candidates’ dread of failing. Two such suicides were reported in two days in the month of June, while five student suicides occurred in Kota in May. In the last six months, approximately 15 incidents of students committing suicide or attempting suicide have been documented in Kota.

Coaching centres such as Allen Career Institute, Resonance Eduventures, and Motion Classes have collectively turned Kota into a bustling hub for students aspiring to crack entrance exams in engineering and medical. “The promise of a bright future is a script that has been told to these students and everyone is putting everything into that hope,” psychologist Ahla Matra told Moneycontrol.com.

She further added that since most of the students stay away from their homes, the pressure to excel gets to them, and feel inadequate if they don’t achieve the standards. This is a stage when their identity is just forming and students are still figuring out their social circle. This along with changing cities can be difficult for the students, she added.

If you or someone you know needs help, call any of these helplines: Aasra (Mumbai) 022-27546669, Sneha (Chennai) 044-24640050, Sumaitri (Delhi) 011-23389090, Cooj (Goa) 0832- 2252525, Jeevan (Jamshedpur) 065-76453841, Pratheeksha (Kochi) 048-42448830, Maithri (Kochi) 0484-2540530, Roshni (Hyderabad) 040-66202000, Lifeline 033-64643267 (Kolkata)