JAIPUR: A 22-year-old student who was preparing for the NEET entrance exam committed suicide on Monday.
The reasons behind the suicide have not yet been ascertained but the police claim that the student was under stress for a long time. The police have also recovered a suicide note from the spot in which spiritual content has been written by the student which reflected his confused and distressed state of mind.
According to the police, the deceased student was identified as Ranjeet, a resident of Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh. He was preparing for NEET by staying in a hostel named Friend Residency in the coaching City.
Ranjit's father had come to Kota to visit him. He tried knocking on the door but even after several attempts when no one answered, his father broke the window and entered inside. Ranjit had allegedly committed suicide by hanging from a fan.
The postmortem of the student's body was done late at night and the body has been handed over to the relatives.
Student suicide rates:
It is notable that cases of student suicides are continuously rising in Kota. Last year in 2022, 20 students died, out of which 18 committed suicide.
On the other hand, in 2023 four students attempted suicide, out of which two died. The other two are undergoing treatment.
In the past two days, alone, two cases of suicide have been reported, out of which one student is still undergoing treatment in a local hospital in Kota.
In the official data released by the state government, it has been told that in the last four years, 52 students have committed suicide in Kota alone. The government has also listed several major reasons for suicides by coaching students in Kota.
Lack of self-confidence due to backwardness in studies, parents having high ambitions for students, physical, mental and academic stress among students, financial constraints, blackmailing and love affairs are considered important reasons behind student suicides.
Soon, Bill governing coaching institutions:
Given the growing menace of student suicides, the Gehlot government in Rajasthan now plans to bring in 'Rajasthan Coaching Institute Bill 2023' in the present assembly session to enact a law to regulate coaching institutes.
Once this bill is approved, no coaching institute can be started without the permission of the Rajasthan government. All currently running coaching institutes will also have to get the certificate after getting registered within three months of the law coming into force. Registration will also be mandatory for online coaching.
Home tuition centres with over 50 students will also come under its purview. Registration will be necessary for them too. Coaching institutes will have to declare all the syllabus that will be taught through the prospectus. The duration of the course and exact fees will also have to be made public.
While the exact provisions of the Bill are unclear, it is said to make it mandatory to provide many facilities for coaching students. It will set up a District Authority to ensure that quality education is being given to the children at coaching centres.
The authority will also set up a cell at the district and block levels to solve the problems of students and parents. If any student or parent complains against a coaching institute to the District Authority, it will have to be disposed of within 30 days. The Bill also proposes strong penalties against coaching institutes if they violate any provisions.
(Suicide helplines -- Maithri, Cochin: +91 239 6272; Sumaitri, New Delhi: 2338 9090, Sneha, Chennai: 91-44-2464 0050, 91-44-2464 0060, Aasra, Mumbai: 9820466726, Fortis MentalHealth: 8376804102)