On Wednesday night, a 16-year-old student in Kota, Rajasthan, who was studying for the all-India pre-medical entrance exam reportedly committed himself in his dormitory room. This brings the total number of student suicides at the coaching centre to eight this year and four in May.
In order to study for the National Eligibility Completion Entrance Test (NEET), the student, according to senior police officers, moved from Nalanda in Bihar to Kota a little more than a month ago.
The crime was discovered on Wednesday after the victim’s parents phoned the hostel warden after failing to reach their son on the phone, according to deputy superintendent of police (Kota), Shankar Lal.
“His room’s door was locked. He was discovered hanging from the ceiling after calling the police and breaking down the door. He was in Class 12,” Lal said. According to authorities, preliminary evidence indicates that the 16-year-old was distressed by a love connection. Lal said, “We are looking into the matter, but it seems his parents were aware of the connection.
With over 200,000 students flocking to its cottage industry of coaching institutions each year, Kota consistently produces top performers in competitive examinations from a variety of fields, including engineering, the public services, and medicine. However, its reputation has been tarnished by a string of suicides, with students succumbing to mental stress, exam pressure, and the inability to cope with living on their own in a competitive environment. The suicides this year highlight the need for immediate initiatives to assist students in coping with mental health issues and evaluate the effectiveness of a government law introduced last year. The bill, which has not yet been introduced, forbids private institutions from highlighting top exam performers, mandates an aptitude test for entry into private coaching programmes, and makes government registration of all coaching programmes mandatory, even for those that only offer online courses.
Eight students have died by suicide so far in 2023, while two more have attempted suicide.
The second suicide in four days occurred on May 11, when a 15-year-old student from Uttar Pradesh was discovered hanging from the ceiling fan in his dorm room. 15 coaching students committed suicide the previous year. According to official statistics, at least 121 students have committed suicide since 2011.
