JAIPUR: A day after two more students died by suicide at the exam prep factory of Kota in Rajasthan, the administration imposed a ban on all exams for the next two months.
The total count of student suicides in Kota has now risen to 24 this year, the highest for any year. Last year, the figure was 15.
Kota is the national hub of coaching for India’s engineering and medical entrance exams. Over two lakh students move to Kota annually to prepare for competitive exams such as the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) for engineering and the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to medical colleges.
A committee formed on the direction of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to look into the issue decided that Kota’s coaching institutes will have half-day of study and half-day of fun every Wednesday. Institutes will also create a form to be filled up every day by students, which will help evaluate their mental health.
Two students ended their lives on Sunday, in a span of four hours. Both were asked to take a test on Sunday despite clear instructions barring coaching centres from holding any exam on Sundays.
Avishkar Shambaji Kasle (17) jumped off the sixth floor of his coaching institute's building in Jawahar Nagar at around 3.15 pm, minutes after walking out of a room after taking a mock NEET test, police said.
Adarsh Raj (18), who was also preparing for the competitive exam, hanged himself in his rented flat in the Kunhadi police station area at around 7 pm, they said.
The reason behind the two latest suicides is that the aspirants were apparently under pressure for scoring low marks during routine tests conducted by the coaching centres.
Kota district collector O P Bunkar, in an order issued Sunday night, asked the coaching institutes to stop holding routine tests for the next two months. He said the directions were passed to provide 'mental support' to students.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)