Two more students gave in to Kota’s toxic competitive climate and growing performance pressure. On Sunday in Kota, two teens who were prepared for the NEET exam committed suicide. With this, the sobering annual total of student suicides in Kota rose to 23.
Since 2015, when the administration started keeping track of college-bound students who commit themselves, the number is by far the greatest. Six of the 23 fatalities occurred in August alone, prompting the administration to hastily order coaching institutes to stop administering tests for two months on Sunday.
The first fatality on Sunday was a 16-year-old Maharashtrian kid who committed suicide by jumping from the sixth storey of his coaching facility in the Vigyan Nagar neighbourhood. According to circle officer Dharam Veer Singh, the adolescent “took the extreme step at his coaching institute after appearing for a scheduled weekly test in the afternoon.”
An 18-year-old Bihar guy was discovered hanging by the ceiling fan in his room six hours later. “The Bihari kid had been residing in a leased residence in the Kunadi region with his sister and a relative. After breaking open the door after several knocks, his siblings discovered him hanging from the fan in his own room this evening, the station house officer (SHO) of the Kunadi police station Ganga Sahay Sharma said. The victim was taken to a hospital, where he later passed away.
Both students were getting ready for the NEET, the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test, which serves as a requirement for enrollment in undergraduate medical schools.
“No suicide note was found in both the cases and a preliminary report did not suggest any behavioural changes,” said an official familiar with the matter.
Om Prakash Bunkar, the district collector, stated that he gave “an order directing the coaching centers not to take any tests for the next two months” late on Sunday.
“Parents and the family should be more careful. Despite staying with the family members, both of them were not spotted with any behavioural changes. In this case, it is more difficult for us to identify the students who are suffering from depression or may be showing suicidal tendencies. The district administration, however, is making several efforts to make changes in the scenario,” Bunkar added.
In order to deter students from taking drastic measures, hostels in Kota are now putting “anti-suicide nets” and spring-loaded fans in the balconies and lobby areas.
When asked if such actions will address the important problem of stress, a police officer responded that they are also getting psychological evaluations and talking to their parents.
“However, precautions like spring-loaded fans can be useful in stopping any attempt that a student could make in the heat of the moment. When that effort fails, students can be counselled and additional actions can be taken as well, according to Deputy Commissioner OP Bunkar, as reported by the news source Press Trust of India.
Every year, more than 2 lakh students relocate to Kota to get ready for tough entrance tests.
