Jaipur: A 20-year-old student preparing for the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) died by suicide in Rajasthan’s Kota district late on Sunday, police said. With this, the number of suicide cases in Kota this year reached eight.
On March 28, a 19-year-old NEET aspirant allegedly hanged herself at her PG room in Kota and a day earlier, another student, a 20-year-old, was found dead at his PG accommodation.
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Last year, 27 students, preparing for various competitive examinations, died by suicide in the district.
According to Kunhadi station house officer (SHO) Arvind Bharadwaj, the student, a resident of Haryana’s Rohtak, was found hanging from the ceiling fan at his hostel on Sunday.
“The incident came to light when he did not open his door till the evening and his parents informed the warden that he was not responding to their calls,” the SHO said. The warden then called the police and went to check on him but the room was locked from the inside and even after several knocks, there was no response following which the police broke open the door and found him hanging from the ceiling fan, Bharadwaj added.
Police said no suicide note was recovered from the spot and that the student’s parents were informed about his death. The deceased was studying at a coaching centre in Kota for over a year and had shifted to the hostel last July.
“The body has been sent for an autopsy. An FSL [Forensic Science Laboratory] team has been called. We are probing whether there were any behavioural changes,” the SHO said.
“We are also probing why the hostel did not install spring-loaded fans as per the district administration’s guidelines,” he added.
Bharadwaj said a probe against the hostel authority will be initiated once the police submit a report on the violation of guidelines. “An inquiry will be initiated against the hostel authority for violation of the guidelines once the police submit a report to the district collector in this regard,” he added.
Amid a surge in suicides among students last year, the district administration on August 18 ordered all hostels and paying guest (PG) accommodations to install spring-loaded fans in rooms “to provide students mental support and security”. However, the guideline is not applicable to apartments.
Kota is the centre of India’s test-prep business, estimated to be worth ₹10,000 crore annually, according to officials in the district administration. Students from around the country arrive here in huge numbers after completing Class X and registering 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 Joint Entrance Examination (JEE). Some students find the grind stressful, especially because they are away from their families.
On March 28, another 20-year-old NEET aspirant from UP’s Lucknow was also found dead at her paying guest accommodation, only a day after the death of another Kanauj-based NEET student at his rented accommodation in the Vigyan Nagar area.
On March 8, a 16-year-old student from Bihar, who was preparing for Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for admission in engineering courses, died by suicide in Kota, leaving behind a purported note for his father where he said he was struggling to pursue the course.
On February 19, a 16-year-old JEE aspirant from Madhya Pradesh, who was studying in Kota and went missing for over 10 days, was found dead in the Chambal forest area. Based on the CCTV footage and other evidence, the police stated it was suicide as his body was found stuck between two rocks down a cliff. “The boy had probably tried to jump into the river,” said police.
On February 13, a 16-year-old from Chhattisgarh, who appeared for the first edition of JEE-Main, died by suicide in Kota district, a day after the National Testing Agency published the answer key for the exam, police said. It appeared that he had scored very low in the exam, police added.
On January 29, an 18-year-old student from Kota died by suicide days ahead of the JEE-Main exam, leaving behind a purported note for her parents where she said she could not attempt the exam.
On January 23, a 19-year-old student from Uttar Pradesh, who was preparing for NEET, allegedly died by suicide in the district.
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.
On September 28, the Rajasthan government announced a series of measures to prevent suicides among students, such as a mandatory screening test, the alphabetical sorting of students into sections instead of a ranking-based one, and the admission of students who are in Class IX or higher.
The guidelines also recommended mandatory training for teachers, institute managers, other staff, and the wardens of the hostels and paying guest accommodations to enable them to assess the behavioural changes of students and take further preventive measures.
The government warned of legal action against faculty of coaching institutes if they violated any of the regulations.
On January 16, the Union education minister also released specific instructions for the functioning of coaching centres and restricted enrollment above the age of 16. It warned of a penalty of ₹1,00,000 for institutes in case of any violation of the terms and conditions.
If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist. Helplines: Aasra: 022 2754 6669; Sneha India Foundation: +914424640050 and Sanjivini: 011-24311918, Roshni Foundation (Secunderabad) Contact Nos: 040-66202001, 040-66202000, ONE LIFE: Contact No: 78930 78930, SEVA: Contact No: 09441778290
