New Delhi The Supreme Court on Monday said that blaming the mushrooming of coaching institutes for the rising suicides among students, primarily in Kota, was not correct because it is the high expectations put by parents in a competitive environment that is driving children to end their lives.
Read here: SC blames parents for Kota suicides, refuses to rein in coaching centres
Refusing to entertain a petition that sought regulation of private coaching institutes and a law to prescribe their minimum standards, a bench headed by justice Sanjiv Khanna said, “The problem is of parents and not of coaching institutes.”
Conscious of the fact that nearly 24 suicides have been reported this year in Kota district in Rajasthan, where such institutes offering engineering and medical coaching for school going children have grown, the bench, also comprising justice SVN Bhatti, said, “Suicides are not happening because of the coaching institutes. They happen because the children cannot meet the expectations of their parents. The number of deaths could be much higher.”
The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a Mumbai-based doctor Aniruddha Narayan Malpani who blamed coaching institutes for driving students to the point of death by using children as “commodity” for selfish gains.
{{/usCountry}}The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a Mumbai-based doctor Aniruddha Narayan Malpani who blamed coaching institutes for driving students to the point of death by using children as “commodity” for selfish gains.
{{/usCountry}}The petition argued by advocate Mohini Priya said that while suicides in Kota have grabbed headlines, the phenomenon is common to several private coaching institutions, and there is no law or regulation that holds them accountable.
“Most of us would like not to have coaching institutes,” the bench said. “But nowadays, the examinations have become so competitive and there is a lot of expectation from parents. Students lose out by half a mark or one mark in competitive exams.”
The court suggested the petitioner to either approach the Rajasthan high court as suicide incidents cited in the petition largely pertained to Kota, or move a representation to the Union government. “How can we direct a legislation on this issue?” it asked.
At this point, advocate Mohini Priya sought permission to withdraw the petition, indicating that the petitioner would prefer moving a representation, which the court permitted.
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The petition argued that student suicides is a grave human rights concern and the “lackadaisical attitude of the Centre in enacting a law despite the rising number of suicides clearly reflects upon state’s apathy towards protecting young minds who are the future of our country”. It said that it was their constitutional right to live with dignity guaranteed under Article 21 (protection of life and liberty).
The Rajasthan government recently introduced the Rajasthan Coaching Institutes (Control and Regulation) Bill, 2023, and Rajasthan Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority Bill, 2023, as steps to control and regulate the functioning of private coaching institutes. The two bills are yet to become a law.