Kota again: 2 teens die by suicide in 6 hours; Rajasthan govt asks coaching centers to halt tests

Two teenagers preparing for medical college admissions died by suicide in Kota, taking the total number of student suicides in the town to 23 this year.

Two teenagers living in Kota to prepare for admissions into medical colleges died by suicide on Sunday, taking the grim tally of students dying in a town known across the country for its test-prep business to 23 this year.

Both students were preparing for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, or NEET.

The number is by far the highest since 2015, when the administration first began compiling records of college aspirants who die by suicide. Six of the 23 deaths took place in August alone, prompting the administration on Sunday to issue a hurried order directing coaching institutes to suspend any testing for two months.

Sunday’s first death was of a 16-year-old boy from Maharashtra, who jumped off the sixth floor of his coaching institute at Vigyan Nagar area. “The teen took the extreme step at his coaching institute after appearing for a scheduled weekly test in the afternoon,” said circle officer Dharam Veer Singh.

Six hours later, an 18-year-old man from Bihar was found having hanged himself by the ceiling fan in his room. “The teen from Bihar had been staying with his sister and a cousin at a rented apartment in the Kunadi area. His siblings found him hanging from the fan in his own room this evening after breaking open the door when he didn’t respond to repeated knocks,” said the station house officer (SHO) of the Kunadi police station Ganga Sahay Sharma, who added that the victim was taken to a hospital where he succumbed later.

Both students were preparing for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, or NEET, which is used as a benchmark for admission to undergraduate medical colleges.

“No suicide note was found in both the cases and a preliminary report did not suggest any behavioural changes,” said an official familiar with the matter.

Late on Sunday, district collection Om Prakash Bunkar said he issued “an order directing the coaching centres not to take any tests for the next two months”.

“Parents and the family should be more careful. Despite staying with the family members, both of them were not spotted with any behavioural changes. In this case, it is more difficult for us to identify the students who are suffering from depression or may be showing suicidal tendencies. The district administration, however, is making several efforts to make changes in the scenario,” Bunkar added.

To be sure, those under stress or with mental illnesses do not necessarily let it show. The administration in Kota has followed perplexing approaches to address the problem making, earlier this month, mandatory for hostels to use a spring-loaded rod to mount ceiling fans in an ostensible effort to thwart deaths by hanging.

Kota is the centre of India’s test-prep business, estimated to be worth ₹10,000 crores annually, according to officials in the district administration. Students from around the country arrive here in huge numbers after completing Class X, and register in residential test-prep institutes. They also enrol in schools, most of which are largely for purposes of certification.

Students attend classes only in the test-prep institutes, which prepare them for their Class XII examination, but more importantly, entrance examinations such as NEET and JEE. Some students find the grind stressful, especially because they are away from their families.

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 suicide took place in 2020 and 2021.

On August 18, chief minister Ashok Gehlot had expressed concerns over the surge in suicides among students preparing for competitive exams in Kota district and directed officials to form a committee to suggest measures to keep a check on such cases.

“There should not be any further rise in such (suicide) cases… time has come for improvement. We cannot see young students committing suicide… even the death of even one kid is unfortunate and is a huge loss for parents,” Gehlot said.

The Kota district administration, on August 17, ordered all hostels and PG accommodations to install spring-loaded fans in all rooms “to provide students mental support and security”.

The state police department on June 22 set up a students’ cell, comprising an additional superintendent of police, three inspectors or sub-inspectors or assistant sub-inspectors and six constables, including female cops, to hold regular interactions and keep a check on students across coaching centres.