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Over 15 cases of student suicides have been reported from coaching hub Kota in Rajasthan so far this year, but barring the Covid pandemic, the numbers have remained consistent, and last year when 28 such suicides were recorded, the highest in eight years. Were. City. This figure is still worrying and this is despite the fact that the number of students enrolling in coaching institutes in the region is declining due to various factors, including online coaching and similar institutes opening up in the cities, which are helping young students preparing for Promise a bright future for. For competitive exams for admission to top medical and engineering colleges.
The latest casualty was a 20-year-old medical aspirant from Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, who was being treated for a neurological disorder. He was staying in a paying guest accommodation in the city for the past six months, where he allegedly ended his life late on October 16, making it the 15th suspected case of student suicide at the center so far this year. Is. Last month was no different when a 21-year-old student, who was preparing for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)-Undergraduate (UG), which is conducted for admission to medical colleges in India, also committed suicide. Died from.
It is only this year that the number of enrollments has reportedly gone down in the city’s institutions, which till this time of the year in 2023 were still brimming with students. This year there were about 30%-35% less enrollments in Kota compared to previous years. It seems that NEET-UG results have also been affected this year and a larger number of top scorers have emerged from Sikar as compared to Kota. But whether it will have any impact on reducing the number of student suicides remains to be seen.
According to state official data, 28 students ended their lives in Kota last year – the highest since 2015 (when the district administration started collecting data on student suicides). 15 students died by suicide in 2022. No suicides were reported in 2021 and 2020, which were the years of the Covid pandemic when institutions were closed and classes were mostly conducted online. There were 18 such deaths in 2019, 20 in 2018, seven in 2017, 17 in 2016 and 18 in 2015.
Psychologists, educationists and counseling experts said that even though Kota is losing the luster of its coaching institutes, this culture is still deeply rooted and will persist as long as parents as well as students change their mindset. Can’t see the change. Talked about a serious situation.
Mimansa Singh Tanwar, clinical psychologist and head of the Fortis School Mental Health Programme, said 75% of people experiencing suicidal thoughts across the world do not seek help. For those taking extreme steps, for example, in the case of college students in highly competitive places like Kota, it is like a “make or break situation” because they think they have no plan B. “When we see cases of suicide among college students, they face different types and levels of pressure such as familial, financial and peer pressure. Often in such cases, even if there is no active pressure, they attribute it to external and The insiders are feeling both ways in their mind because it is so deeply embedded in the culture that they are seeing around them,” Tanwar said.
He said, it is always a combination of two factors – immediate and long-term. An immediate factor is the trigger, which could be a routine exam in which a student has not performed well, but then long-term factors such as ability to take stress, personality, home situation or financial pressures are at play. For some time and are responsible for driving him to this brink of suicide.
“So, when we talk about prevention, the first step for institutions is to create awareness about how to deal with the pressure and not make it a one-time thing. The second is to assess stress levels and build resilience, life skills and a longitudinal axis where a person’s life is not just about passing an exam, but making many other plans if one does not work out. It’s also important how we talk about suicide in general because there’s a mimetic aspect to it. If we continue to talk about methodology, a student who is considering it will recognize that this is what anyone facing similar stress is doing. “We have to talk about the impact it has on their families and their social peer groups to oppose this idea,” Tanwar said.
The highest number of students reaching Kota are from other states including UP, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh (MP), Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Rajasthan. Apart from NEET, students come to Kota to prepare for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) – Mains and Advanced – which is conducted for admission to engineering colleges in the country.
NEET-UG and JEE are the biggest and toughest entrance exams of the country which are conducted every year for the students to get admission in premier engineering and medical institutes like AIIMS, IITs and NITs.
Every year around 22 lakh students appear for NEET exam across the country, but there are only about 40,000 seats in government colleges. Most of the people who come to Kota to prepare for NEET are those who cannot afford private medical colleges. The competition is tough and average performers are dropped from the circuit, as institutes are only looking for star performers, who are then formed into a separate batch. The highest number of suicides have been recorded among NEET aspirants compared to engineering colleges, in which the course content is huge and seats are relatively less.
“The incidence is higher for NEET aspirants, probably because their number is much higher than those preparing for JEE. Moreover, since the medical profession has traditionally been the most prestigious, with parents dreaming of their children becoming doctors, the burden of expectations to score high marks increases as those getting lower ranks do not have access to good government jobs. There is no possibility of admission in colleges. The point is that even if the numbers in the quota reduce, they may expand elsewhere. Parents have to understand the aptitude of the child before pushing him into any work, as he may be able to do many other things better than struggling for years in coaching institutes,” says Jo, a physics teacher. Also a consulting expert, said. An online forum.
According to Kamna Chhibber, a clinical psychologist and head of the department of mental health and behavioral sciences at Fortis Healthcare, suicide can be prevented provided institutions have training and sustained efforts for the same. “It often happens that distress signals are not heeded. If we enable people around, in this case, the institute, the mess or where the students are staying, to identify those showing such symptoms, listen to their conversations and connect them with the right kind of resources, then suicide can be prevented. Could. Look, Listen, Link – these are the three steps. People around young students can play a major role in identifying, addressing, and supporting those who show withdrawal symptoms. Counselors can only provide crisis intervention. Chhibber said, “People around including teachers and parents themselves have to have a holistic approach towards life and ask the youth to look at life from a bigger perspective.”
Disclaimer:This news piece may be inspiring. If you or someone you know needs help, call any of these helplines: Aasra (Mumbai) 022-27546669, Sneha (Chennai) 044-24640050, Sumaitri (Delhi) 011-23389090, Kooj (Goa ) 0832- 2252525, Jeevan (Jamshedpur) 065-76453841, Pratiksha (Kochi) 048-42448830, Maitri (Kochi) 0484-2540530, Roshni (Hyderabad) 040-66202000, Lifeline 033-64643267 (Kolkata)
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