Rajasthan’s Kota, known for its high success rate in coaching students for IITs and medical colleges, has been plagued by a series of student suicides in recent years. This year alone, there have been 27 deaths, and last year saw 15. The intense curriculum, heavy workload, cutthroat competition, and unrealistic expectations from family and society have driven many students to take their own lives. There are four key stakeholders in the Kota ecosystem – parents, the government, coaching centers, and hostel owners. Unfortunately, money seems to be the driving force for coaching centers and hostel owners, while the government has failed to take action. Parents, who have lost both their money and their children, suffer the most in this tragic situation.
Psychologist Indira Roy Mandal highlights the problem of transferring parents’ aspirations onto their children, who deserve to have their own lives and dreams. Kota is a place where the desires of the child may not be given importance, as the desires of the community and society set the benchmark for success. Every year, over three lakh students flock to Kota to prepare for exams like JEE and NEET. These students end up paying exorbitant fees for coaching, lodging, and food, with an average cost of up to Rs 2.5 lakh per year. The institutes themselves do not offer boarding facilities.
The coaching business in Kota is worth around Rs 5,000 crore, with a significant sum extracted from middle and lower-middle class families in small towns and villages. Admission to a coaching center in Kota is seen as a significant step towards achieving their dreams. However, even joining these institutes requires an entrance exam, whereby only high scorers are selected to maintain the institutes’ high success rate. Regular tests and maximum attendance are mandatory.
Shashi Shekhar, a JEE chemistry faculty, emphasizes that parents’ expectations for children who do not aspire to engineering or medical studies are often unrealistic and need to be toned down. Once a child arrives in Kota, they are left alone without frequent access to discuss their concerns with their parents or the courage to convey their difficulties. The feeling of self-harm arises in such situations.
Coaching centers dissuade students from focusing on their Class 12 board exams and urge them to concentrate solely on their IIT or medical entrance tests. This has led to the emergence of dummy schools, with which coaching institutes have tie-ups. These schools do not require compulsory attendance. This trend is spreading to other coaching institutes across the country, mocking CBSE and state board Class 12 exams. The disdain for the syllabus, teaching, and curriculum, which should serve as the foundation for entrance exams, raises questions about a possible nexus between coaching institutes and those responsible for determining the syllabus of these exams. Despite the New Education Policy 2020, no effort has been made to align the curriculum with NEET or IITJEE syllabus, which would undoubtedly harm the growing coaching business nationwide.
Dinesh Sharma, head of the psychology department at Government Nursing College in Kota, has extensively studied suicide cases in Kota. He has counseled over 400 students preparing for engineering and medical entrance exams. Sharma points out that parents nurture their children until they are 14 years old but suddenly send them off to Kota at 15, leaving them to fend for themselves. Raised in a protective environment, these children have difficulty managing the pressures of studying and living independently. Loneliness and the lack of emotional support contribute to depression, ultimately leading to suicide. Teachers in Kota, overwhelmed by the large number of students, often fail to notice signs of distress in children. Sharma suggests that positive youth development initiatives, helplines, and mentors, along with continued care and empathy from family, can go a long way in preventing these tragedies.
In response to the increasing number of suicides, the local administration in Kota has taken measures such as installing anti-hanging devices and safety nets in hostels. Coaching institutes were also instructed not to conduct any exams for two months. However, these are only superficial fixes, and the most crucial solution – psychological counseling – has been overlooked.
It is essential to make young minds suicide-proof not just in Kota but also in other competitive settings across India. The focus should be on the well-being of the child, their passions, and their overall quality of life. Listening to their needs, providing emotional support, and prioritizing their mental health are fundamental in creating an environment that promotes a life well-lived rather than a stressful career.