17-year-old JEE aspirant dies by suicide in Kota; fourth such death this year
The Class XII student was preparing for the JEE to get admission to an undergraduate engineering course
Jaipur: Just four days before the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), a 17-year-old aspirant in Rajasthan’s Kota died by suicide on Friday night, police said.

The Class XII student was preparing for the JEE to get admission to an undergraduate engineering course.
This is the fourth suicide death this year. An 18-year-old National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) aspirant from Odisha also died by suicide on Thursday. He had been studying at a coaching centre in Kota for the past two years, a police officer said.
Last year, at least 20 students died by suicide in Kota, a decrease from 27 the previous year.
“The 17-year-old was from Bundi, Rajasthan, and had been living with his grandmother and cousin in Kota for the past three years. He had previously studied at a coaching centre in the district for two years but quit last year after failing to crack the exam. He was preparing for the JEE, which is scheduled for January 22,” said Ram Laxman Gurjar, the station house officer (SHO) of Jawahar Nagar police station.
The SHO said that the student’s parents work in Bundi. “He was preparing for the JEE along with his final board exam. Late on Friday night, he hung himself from the window latch of his room while everybody was asleep. When he did not respond to his parents’ phone calls on Saturday morning, his grandmother and cousin found him dead,” the officer said, adding that no suicide note was recovered from his place.
A forensic science laboratory (FSL) team was called to the scene.
“His parents arrived in the city and have decided to donate their deceased son’s eyes. The body was sent for an autopsy. We will question them about any behavioural changes in the victim over the last few days. We are also investigating whether he had any specific study related stress,” the SHO added.
The student’s uncle told reporters, “He was good in his studies and wanted to pursue JEE on his own. He was the only child of his parents. He was preparing for JEE with great focus. We don’t understand why he took this drastic step.”
Kota is the centre of India’s test-prep industry, estimated to be worth ₹10,000 crore annually, according to officials in the district administration.
Students from across the country flock to Kota after completing Class X to enrol in residential test-prep institutes to prepare for various competitive exams, including the JEE and NEET-UG. They also attend schools, most of which primarily serve the purpose of certification.
According to police data, 15 students died by suicide in Kota in 2022, 18 in 2019, 20 in 2018, seven in 2017, 17 in 2016, and 18 in 2015. No suicides were reported in 2020 and 2021 as coaching institutes were shut or ran in online mode due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Amid a surge in suicide cases in Kota, the Kota district administration issued several guidelines for hostels and paying guest (PG) accommodations in August 2023. These guidelines included the installation of spring-loaded fans in rooms “to provide students mental support and security.”
On September 28, 2023, the Rajasthan government implemented a series of measures to prevent suicides among students, such as a mandatory screening test, alphabetical sorting of students into sections instead of ranking them, and the admission of students who are in Class IX or higher.
On January 16, 2024, the union education minister also released specific instructions for the functioning of coaching centres and restricted enrolment to students above the age of 16. The guidelines warned of a penalty of ₹1,00,000 for institutes in case of any violation of the terms and conditions.
Based on these ministry guidelines, the Rajasthan government drafted the Coaching Centre (Control and Regulation) Bill 2024 in July.
Some key proposals of the bill include the establishment of a two-tier administrative system to monitor coaching institutes across Rajasthan, mandatory registration of coaching centres with the district administration, limiting coaching study hours to 5 hours per day, barring institutes from scheduling classes during school hours to avoid the practice of ‘dummy schools’, and imposing a ₹1,00,000 penalty on institutes that violate the guidelines..
