Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday said a committee will look into the rising number of suicides among JEE and NEET aspirants at the coaching hub of Kota. The committee, composed of all stakeholders, including parents, representatives of coaching institutes and doctors, will submit a report after 15 days, he said.
According to reports, over 20 students died by suicide in Kota in 2023. An 18-year-old student preparing for JEE died by suicide on Tuesday night—reportedly the fourth death in August itself.
The shocking numbers highlight the burden on students, Gehlot said at a review meeting on Friday. Enrolling Class 9 and 10 students in coaching institutes puts extra burden on them since they also have to appear for board exams, Gehlot said.
The chief minister expressed concern over students having to attend regular classes for six hours a day, extra classes later and attend weekly tests.
“You are committing a crime in a way. It is like as if IIT is god. As soon as students come to coaching, they are enrolled in fake schools. It is also a fault of the parents," he said.
The meeting also discussed National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data on student suicides. According to NCRB, Maharashtra recorded the maximum number of suicides in 2021 with 1,834 deaths, followed by Madhya Pradesh (1,308), Tamil Nadu (1,246), Karnataka (855) and Odisha (834).
The number of such suicides in Rajasthan was 633, which is less than other states, but the the state government is "serious and sensitive" towards the issue, a statement issued after the meeting said.
Meanwhile, the Kota administration has come under sharp criticism over its decision to install spring-loaded fans in all rooms to provide 'mental support and security' to students. The fans will also have installed sensors that sound an alarm in the event of an attempted suicide, Hindustan Times reported.
Experts, however, have been repeatedly drawing attention to the mental health crisis among these students who spend all day in cramped classrooms and face pressure to crack the country's toughest entrance exams. In 2017, the administration roped in Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to study the underlying causes of suicides in the town. The study report stated several students were depressed, anxious, and unable to deal with the pressures of coaching.
-with PTI inputs