Experts advise counseling, aptitude testing, and mental preparation before sending students to Kota for coaching as student suicides have the city of Kota in a state of shock.
According to educators and psychologists who have been monitoring the recent suicide events in Kota, students must be prepared by professional aptitude testing, mental grooming, and adaptability with daily routines prior to joining the coaching hub. In Kota’s coaching facilities, 2 lakh students have signed up this year, setting a record. At least 14 students who were enrolled in coaching centers have died by suicide this year as a result of academic pressure. On December 11th, the coaching city of Kota was shaken by three student suicides within a 12-hour period, prompting district and coaching officials to jump into action and take preventative measures against similar incidents.
Ankush Anand, 16, a NEET applicant from the Bihar district of Supaul, and Ujjwal Kumar, 18, a JEE aspirant from the Bihar district of Gaya, both of whom hanged themselves in their individual rooms at the same PG. According to reports, Pranav Verma, 17, a NEET candidate from the Shivpuri area of Madhya Pradesh, expired later that day in his dorm room in Landmark City. In another similar incidence, Aniket Kumar, a student from Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his hostel room on December 23rd. They observed that the majority of parents send their children to Kota for training with basically no prior preparation. Four coaching students died by suicide recently, rekindling a debate over the mental health of young people who are constantly stressed out by the pressures of a demanding curriculum and high parental expectations.
A psychiatrist department mentioned that “Parents should require their children to take an aptitude test rather than pushing them to pursue careers as doctors and engineer. I don’t think coaching centers have a big part in student suicides. We have to admit that JEE and NEET are really difficult tests, and hence the teaching and learning is also supposed to be of the same level. It’s crucial to take an aptitude test before sending students to Kota. Since the majority of these students have never received counseling or mental grooming, it is equally crucial that it begins at least two years before the student arrival in Kota as a majority of these students have never stayed away from home before”.
It is vital for parents and kids to create good communication channels early on, according to the managing director and academic head of a well-known coaching facility in Kota. He claimed that “students who visit Kota’s coaching centres face much greater academic pressure typically before attending the centre. Upon arriving here, Students almost immediately feel lost as they struggle to find a balance between their daily responsibilities and academic pressure. Therefore, before bringing their kids here, we advise parents to stop over pampering and making them codependent for at least two years. So that the only challenge they encounter is managing the academic aspect, which we can resolve here”. It must be kept in mind that the academic pressure is significantly more than what they have previously experienced. There is also some pressure and difficulty adapting to a new lifestyle
The Rajasthan Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Bill – 2022, which has been in the works since 2020, is anticipated to be introduced during the state assembly’s subsequent session. The bill creates a committee to regulate education that will keep a tab on coaching facilities, and make sure they have counseling services available, stop glorifying top performers, and deal with the kind of stress that may likely contribute to student suicides. Prior to enrolling in a coaching center to prepare for a competitive exam, the authorities suggests that students as well as parents should work their way to making these new changes as smooth and as healthy as possible they also suggest seeking help when needed for Students who feel they cannot handle the pressure.
Suicide prevention helpline numbers:
I call: +91 9152 987 821 (Mon to Sat, 10 am – 8 pm)
Roshni: +9140 6620 2000, +9140 6620 2001 (All days, 11 am – 9 pm)
SNEHA: 044-24640050, 044-24640060 (Mon to Sat, 10 am – 6 pm)
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