News Analysis India

Tag: Kota

  • With 113 deaths since 2015, Kota has seen suicides by students every year, except during pandemic

    By PTI

    KOTA (Rajasthan): Kota, the coaching hub, has seen a total of 113 suicide cases by students since 2015, except for 2020-21 when students returned home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data collected from media reports and police.

    Suicides by students getting trained in coaching centres had gone unnoticed by the media until the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in its report in May 2015 mentioned that Kota had witnessed a rise in such cases by 61.3 per cent, which mostly included students.

    The NCRB report also mentioned that out of the 100 suicide deaths here in 2014, 45 were by students who took the extreme step after failing exams, 26 due to relationship issues and 24 due to family problems.

    The NCRB report brought turmoil to the coaching industry here, prompting the state government to take cognizance, following which guidelines were formulated to curb suicide by students preparing for competitive exams.

    The then Kota district collector Ravi Kumar Surpur even wrote a letter in May 2016, urging parents to not burden their wards with their expectations.

    The growing number of suicides by students taking classes at this coaching hub has once again raised a question about the several mechanisms put in place to prevent aspirants from taking such a step.

    A 17-year-old JEE aspirant hanged himself here on Friday, taking the number of suspected suicide deaths by coaching students to 18 so far this year and ringing an alarm bell among parents, teachers, hostel owners, and authorities.

    The situation has pitched the need to strengthen the mechanism to curb the rising rate of suicides by young aspirants as the efforts already in place for the last 8 years, including deployment of psychologists at coaching institutes, regular recreational activities, weekly offs, fee refund policy, setting up of students’ helpline desk and helpline number seemed to have failed to address the issue.

    Social and peer pressure, parental expectations, new study environment, homesickness, and failure to cope with the hectic routine are some of the major causes driving teens to suicide in Kota, said ASP Chandrasheel Thakur, in-charge of the students’ helpdesk here. 

    Besides, coaching institutes, eager to earn money, tend to enrol an average or weak student letting them and the parents know of the aspirant’s genuine potential, the ASP added.

    “The preparation for cracking entrance exams like IIT-JEE, and NEET-UG is not a child’s play even for sharp aspirants, it requires burning the midnight oil with dedication and commitment,” pointed out Dr Chandrashekhar Sushil, senior professor in the psychiatry department at Kota Government Medical College.

    Pointing out that coaching institutes are not responsible for the rising suicides, Sushil said, “The coaching system has been designed to prepare aspirants to work hard enthusiastically to crack the exam and charge fees for the same purpose. But those who can’t work hard or are not prepared yet should avoid joining the course.”

    ALSO READ | 17-year-old JEE aspirant dies by suicide in Kota 

    Surpur, besides introducing fun activities, deputing psychologists in institutes, weekly off, also authored a 20-page booklet that combined fun reading, graphics, famous quotes, and catchy one-liners from Bollywood movies to boost confidence among coaching students.

    These efforts brought down significantly the number of suicides by coaching students to 7 in 2017 from 17 in 2016 and 18 in 2015.

    The rise in suicide cases resumed after 2017 with 20 such incidents in 2018, 18 in 2019, 15 in 2022 and already 18 so far this year, indicating the apparent apathy on this sensitive issue by government machinery, local administration as well as coaching institutes.

    Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. In case you feel distressed by the content or know someone in distress, call Sneha Foundation – 04424640050 (available 24×7)

    KOTA (Rajasthan): Kota, the coaching hub, has seen a total of 113 suicide cases by students since 2015, except for 2020-21 when students returned home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data collected from media reports and police.

    Suicides by students getting trained in coaching centres had gone unnoticed by the media until the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in its report in May 2015 mentioned that Kota had witnessed a rise in such cases by 61.3 per cent, which mostly included students.

    The NCRB report also mentioned that out of the 100 suicide deaths here in 2014, 45 were by students who took the extreme step after failing exams, 26 due to relationship issues and 24 due to family problems.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2′); });

    The NCRB report brought turmoil to the coaching industry here, prompting the state government to take cognizance, following which guidelines were formulated to curb suicide by students preparing for competitive exams.

    The then Kota district collector Ravi Kumar Surpur even wrote a letter in May 2016, urging parents to not burden their wards with their expectations.

    The growing number of suicides by students taking classes at this coaching hub has once again raised a question about the several mechanisms put in place to prevent aspirants from taking such a step.

    A 17-year-old JEE aspirant hanged himself here on Friday, taking the number of suspected suicide deaths by coaching students to 18 so far this year and ringing an alarm bell among parents, teachers, hostel owners, and authorities.

    The situation has pitched the need to strengthen the mechanism to curb the rising rate of suicides by young aspirants as the efforts already in place for the last 8 years, including deployment of psychologists at coaching institutes, regular recreational activities, weekly offs, fee refund policy, setting up of students’ helpline desk and helpline number seemed to have failed to address the issue.

    Social and peer pressure, parental expectations, new study environment, homesickness, and failure to cope with the hectic routine are some of the major causes driving teens to suicide in Kota, said ASP Chandrasheel Thakur, in-charge of the students’ helpdesk here. 

    Besides, coaching institutes, eager to earn money, tend to enrol an average or weak student letting them and the parents know of the aspirant’s genuine potential, the ASP added.

    “The preparation for cracking entrance exams like IIT-JEE, and NEET-UG is not a child’s play even for sharp aspirants, it requires burning the midnight oil with dedication and commitment,” pointed out Dr Chandrashekhar Sushil, senior professor in the psychiatry department at Kota Government Medical College.

    Pointing out that coaching institutes are not responsible for the rising suicides, Sushil said, “The coaching system has been designed to prepare aspirants to work hard enthusiastically to crack the exam and charge fees for the same purpose. But those who can’t work hard or are not prepared yet should avoid joining the course.”

    ALSO READ | 17-year-old JEE aspirant dies by suicide in Kota 

    Surpur, besides introducing fun activities, deputing psychologists in institutes, weekly off, also authored a 20-page booklet that combined fun reading, graphics, famous quotes, and catchy one-liners from Bollywood movies to boost confidence among coaching students.

    These efforts brought down significantly the number of suicides by coaching students to 7 in 2017 from 17 in 2016 and 18 in 2015.

    The rise in suicide cases resumed after 2017 with 20 such incidents in 2018, 18 in 2019, 15 in 2022 and already 18 so far this year, indicating the apparent apathy on this sensitive issue by government machinery, local administration as well as coaching institutes.

    Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. In case you feel distressed by the content or know someone in distress, call Sneha Foundation – 04424640050 (available 24×7)

  • 17-year-old student commits suicide in hostel room in Rajasthan’s Kota

    By PTI

    KOTA: A 17-year-old male student, who was preparing for the JEE-Mains examination died by suicide in his hostel room in Rajasthan’s Kota, police said on Monday.

    The incident happened in Kota’s Mahaveer Nagar police station area on Sunday evening.

    “The boy was a year dropper in JEE-Mains and had not been attending coaching classes for around a month,” said Sub Inspector Awadhesh Singh.

    He said that on Sunday evening when the boy did not open the door of his room, the caretaker of the hostel informed the police.

    The boy passed class 12 and had made a failed attempt for JEE-Mains and later in July last year he enrolled himself in a coaching institute in Kota.

    Kota, which is the hub of coaching centres preparing students for engineering and medical entrance examinations in 2022 saw the death of at least 15 students by suicide.

    ALSO READ | Student suicides: Experts underline mental grooming, aptitude test before sending kids to Kota

    KOTA: A 17-year-old male student, who was preparing for the JEE-Mains examination died by suicide in his hostel room in Rajasthan’s Kota, police said on Monday.

    The incident happened in Kota’s Mahaveer Nagar police station area on Sunday evening.

    “The boy was a year dropper in JEE-Mains and had not been attending coaching classes for around a month,” said Sub Inspector Awadhesh Singh.

    He said that on Sunday evening when the boy did not open the door of his room, the caretaker of the hostel informed the police.

    The boy passed class 12 and had made a failed attempt for JEE-Mains and later in July last year he enrolled himself in a coaching institute in Kota.

    Kota, which is the hub of coaching centres preparing students for engineering and medical entrance examinations in 2022 saw the death of at least 15 students by suicide.

    ALSO READ | Student suicides: Experts underline mental grooming, aptitude test before sending kids to Kota

  • Rajasthan’s medical colleges face cadaver shortage, seek nod to acquire unclaimed bodies

    By PTI

    KOTA: Medical college authorities have sought the Rajasthan government’s permission to claim bodies of the destitute and those abandoned in shelter homes amid a crippling shortage of cadavers for students.

    Medical colleges in Kota and Jhalawar are grappling with a severe shortage of cadavers, being forced to manage practical studies by grouping students together.

    Government Medical College – Kota is conducting practical classes for its 250 students with 8 to 10 cadavers.

    Government Medical College – Jhalawar, on the other hand, has only six cadavers for its 200 students.

    This practice, however, runs contrary to the Medical Council of India — now the National Medical Commission — guidelines of one cadaver for 10 students.

    Cadavers are human bodies used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites and determine causes of death.

    Most state-run medical colleges in Rajasthan and across India rely on donations for cadavers.

    Accepting the shortage of cadavers, Government Medical College – Jhalawar Dean Shiv Bhagwan Sharma said he wrote to the state government two months ago to request permission for claiming bodies from shelter homes.

    Manoj Sharma, nodal officer of the body donation programme at Government Medical College – Jhalawar, said almost all colleges across the state, including private ones, were facing the cadaver shortage.

    However, SMS Medical College — the biggest hospital in the state — in Jaipur and RNT Medical College in Udaipur are exceptions.

    Udaipur’s location on the border with Gujarat enables it to acquire cadavers for students, he said.

    Dean Sharma proposed coordinating with shelter homes to claim bodies of the destitute and abandoned people who die of natural causes, he said.

    However, the state government is yet to respond to the proposal.

    Sharma asserted that the situation was the same across medical colleges in the state, depriving the students of the opportunity to get a better insight into human anatomy.

    Bharatpur-based NGO Apna Ghar, which provides shelter homes to the destitute and the abandoned, proposed to send bodies to medical studies and wrote to the state government for permission, he added.

    NGO representative Veerpal Singh said about 40 to 50 people died of natural causes in shelter homes every month and it would be fair if the bodies were used for medical studies to benefit hundreds of students. Singh said he had sought consent from the state government for the proposal.

    Green activist Brijesh Vijayvergeya said around five to six quintals of wood were required to perform during last rites.

    Vijayvergeya said donating a body will not only benefit the students but also the environment by conserving forests.

    Arushi Jain, the Anatomy department head at the Government Medical College, Kota, said only 39 bodies had been donated to the medical college since 2010.

    The utility of a body for medical studies is beyond imagination and it is significant for students, she said.

    Gopal Sharma, head of the Anatomy department at Government Medical College – Jhalawar, said campaigns were underway to generate awareness among people about donating bodies.

    KOTA: Medical college authorities have sought the Rajasthan government’s permission to claim bodies of the destitute and those abandoned in shelter homes amid a crippling shortage of cadavers for students.

    Medical colleges in Kota and Jhalawar are grappling with a severe shortage of cadavers, being forced to manage practical studies by grouping students together.

    Government Medical College – Kota is conducting practical classes for its 250 students with 8 to 10 cadavers.

    Government Medical College – Jhalawar, on the other hand, has only six cadavers for its 200 students.

    This practice, however, runs contrary to the Medical Council of India — now the National Medical Commission — guidelines of one cadaver for 10 students.

    Cadavers are human bodies used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites and determine causes of death.

    Most state-run medical colleges in Rajasthan and across India rely on donations for cadavers.

    Accepting the shortage of cadavers, Government Medical College – Jhalawar Dean Shiv Bhagwan Sharma said he wrote to the state government two months ago to request permission for claiming bodies from shelter homes.

    Manoj Sharma, nodal officer of the body donation programme at Government Medical College – Jhalawar, said almost all colleges across the state, including private ones, were facing the cadaver shortage.

    However, SMS Medical College — the biggest hospital in the state — in Jaipur and RNT Medical College in Udaipur are exceptions.

    Udaipur’s location on the border with Gujarat enables it to acquire cadavers for students, he said.

    Dean Sharma proposed coordinating with shelter homes to claim bodies of the destitute and abandoned people who die of natural causes, he said.

    However, the state government is yet to respond to the proposal.

    Sharma asserted that the situation was the same across medical colleges in the state, depriving the students of the opportunity to get a better insight into human anatomy.

    Bharatpur-based NGO Apna Ghar, which provides shelter homes to the destitute and the abandoned, proposed to send bodies to medical studies and wrote to the state government for permission, he added.

    NGO representative Veerpal Singh said about 40 to 50 people died of natural causes in shelter homes every month and it would be fair if the bodies were used for medical studies to benefit hundreds of students. Singh said he had sought consent from the state government for the proposal.

    Green activist Brijesh Vijayvergeya said around five to six quintals of wood were required to perform during last rites.

    Vijayvergeya said donating a body will not only benefit the students but also the environment by conserving forests.

    Arushi Jain, the Anatomy department head at the Government Medical College, Kota, said only 39 bodies had been donated to the medical college since 2010.

    The utility of a body for medical studies is beyond imagination and it is significant for students, she said.

    Gopal Sharma, head of the Anatomy department at Government Medical College – Jhalawar, said campaigns were underway to generate awareness among people about donating bodies.

  • Student suicides: Experts underline mental grooming, aptitude test before sending kids to Kota

    By PTI

    KOTA: Parents should assess their children’s aptitude through professional help before deciding whether to send them to Kota to prepare for the highly competitive JEE and NEET exams, experts have suggested, as the country’s coaching hub feels the disquiet caused by the suicide of four students within a month.

    Grooming students mentally and training them to do their daily chores on their own are also a very important part of “preparing them for the preparation” exercise, say educational experts and psychologists who have been keeping a tab on the recent incidents.

    Dr Chandra Shekhar Sushil, who is the head of the Department of Psychiatry at New Medical College Hospital here, said instead of pushing children to become doctors and engineers, parents should make them take an aptitude test and then decide what’s best for them.

    A majority of parents send their children for coaching there with almost zero preparation and the focus is only on arranging finances and logistics, they noted.

    The recent suicide by four coaching students triggered a fresh debate about the mental health of the students who are often bogged down in the fast-paced curriculum, family expectations and societal pressures.

    ALSO READ | Kota student suicides: Weekend offs, two internal tests per week on demand list to reduce stress

    “When a child is in class 5 or 6, parents decide that two years or four years later he or she will be sent to Kota,” Harish Sharma, Principal Counsellor and Student-Behaviour expert at Allen Career Institute, told PTI.

    “They start saving up accordingly or start making plans to move to the city well in advance. However, they never try to professionally analyse whether their child actually wants to do that or is even fit for doing that. There should be no shame in accepting suggestions by the professionals and acting accordingly,” he said.

    “A decade before, professional help in aptitude testing and decision-making wasn’t that easily available but today it is.” He said parents mostly focus on their children getting higher marks without understanding their mental capability.

    “Scoring above 90 per cent in class 10 or 12 cannot be a benchmark to decide whether a child is meant for engineering or medicine. We often find students here who either come under parental pressure or did not have an idea early on about their choice of subjects. This is where professional aptitude tests can help,” he said.

    He said making an informed decision early on is important. “When the child is already here, the ship has kind of sailed. Parents and children often get bothered about the fact that their peers know about the move and if they return without the desired results, they will be looked down upon. If an informed decision can be made early on, it can be really helpful,” he added.

    Sharma explained that talking to neighbours and relatives whose children might have gone to Kota is not enough and professional help should be sought at an early stage.

    READ HERE | Yoga, zumba classes, mental wellness in focus as student suicides shake Kota

    A record 2 lakh students are enrolled in various coaching institutes in Kota this year.

    At least 14 students studying in coaching centres here have committed suicide this year allegedly under academic stress.

    RK Verma, Managing Director and Academic Head, Resonance, another prominent coaching institute in Kota, believes that developing proper communication channels between parents and children well in advance is very important.

    “The parents cannot expect that their child will suddenly start communicating with them when he is here. This bond and comfort level has to be developed before. We have also noticed that the kids are completely dependent upon parents till the time they come here,” he said.

    The academic pressure in Kota’s coaching centres is far more than what students would have dealt with earlier, he said.

    “The inability to manage the routine chores like arranging your wardrobe, sending clothes for laundry, reaching the mess on time to have meals, waking themselves up, all of these things. The children have not done on their own before coming here,” Verma said.

    “So suddenly, the child finds himself lost. So we advise parents to stop keeping their children in their laps for at least two years before sending them here. So that the only difficulty they find is dealing with the academic part, which we can resolve here,” he added.

    On December 11, suicide by three students within 12 hours rocked the coaching city, prompting the district and coaching authorities to ramp up measure to check it.

    Another student died by suicide on December 23 allegedly due to academic stress.

    Dr Chandra Shekhar Sushil, who is the head of the Department of Psychiatry at New Medical College Hospital here, said, “I do not believe coaching institutes have much of a role in student suicides. We have to admit that JEE and NEET are very tough exams and hence the teaching and learning is also supposed to be of the same level. However, taking an aptitude test before sending students to Kota is very important. It is equally important that some sort of counselling and grooming is done at least two years before the child comes to Kota as a majority of these kids have never stayed away from home before,” Sushil added.

    (If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation – 04424640050 (available 24×7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences’ helpline – 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)

    KOTA: Parents should assess their children’s aptitude through professional help before deciding whether to send them to Kota to prepare for the highly competitive JEE and NEET exams, experts have suggested, as the country’s coaching hub feels the disquiet caused by the suicide of four students within a month.

    Grooming students mentally and training them to do their daily chores on their own are also a very important part of “preparing them for the preparation” exercise, say educational experts and psychologists who have been keeping a tab on the recent incidents.

    Dr Chandra Shekhar Sushil, who is the head of the Department of Psychiatry at New Medical College Hospital here, said instead of pushing children to become doctors and engineers, parents should make them take an aptitude test and then decide what’s best for them.

    A majority of parents send their children for coaching there with almost zero preparation and the focus is only on arranging finances and logistics, they noted.

    The recent suicide by four coaching students triggered a fresh debate about the mental health of the students who are often bogged down in the fast-paced curriculum, family expectations and societal pressures.

    ALSO READ | Kota student suicides: Weekend offs, two internal tests per week on demand list to reduce stress

    “When a child is in class 5 or 6, parents decide that two years or four years later he or she will be sent to Kota,” Harish Sharma, Principal Counsellor and Student-Behaviour expert at Allen Career Institute, told PTI.

    “They start saving up accordingly or start making plans to move to the city well in advance. However, they never try to professionally analyse whether their child actually wants to do that or is even fit for doing that. There should be no shame in accepting suggestions by the professionals and acting accordingly,” he said.

    “A decade before, professional help in aptitude testing and decision-making wasn’t that easily available but today it is.” He said parents mostly focus on their children getting higher marks without understanding their mental capability.

    “Scoring above 90 per cent in class 10 or 12 cannot be a benchmark to decide whether a child is meant for engineering or medicine. We often find students here who either come under parental pressure or did not have an idea early on about their choice of subjects. This is where professional aptitude tests can help,” he said.

    He said making an informed decision early on is important. “When the child is already here, the ship has kind of sailed. Parents and children often get bothered about the fact that their peers know about the move and if they return without the desired results, they will be looked down upon. If an informed decision can be made early on, it can be really helpful,” he added.

    Sharma explained that talking to neighbours and relatives whose children might have gone to Kota is not enough and professional help should be sought at an early stage.

    READ HERE | Yoga, zumba classes, mental wellness in focus as student suicides shake Kota

    A record 2 lakh students are enrolled in various coaching institutes in Kota this year.

    At least 14 students studying in coaching centres here have committed suicide this year allegedly under academic stress.

    RK Verma, Managing Director and Academic Head, Resonance, another prominent coaching institute in Kota, believes that developing proper communication channels between parents and children well in advance is very important.

    “The parents cannot expect that their child will suddenly start communicating with them when he is here. This bond and comfort level has to be developed before. We have also noticed that the kids are completely dependent upon parents till the time they come here,” he said.

    The academic pressure in Kota’s coaching centres is far more than what students would have dealt with earlier, he said.

    “The inability to manage the routine chores like arranging your wardrobe, sending clothes for laundry, reaching the mess on time to have meals, waking themselves up, all of these things. The children have not done on their own before coming here,” Verma said.

    “So suddenly, the child finds himself lost. So we advise parents to stop keeping their children in their laps for at least two years before sending them here. So that the only difficulty they find is dealing with the academic part, which we can resolve here,” he added.

    On December 11, suicide by three students within 12 hours rocked the coaching city, prompting the district and coaching authorities to ramp up measure to check it.

    Another student died by suicide on December 23 allegedly due to academic stress.

    Dr Chandra Shekhar Sushil, who is the head of the Department of Psychiatry at New Medical College Hospital here, said, “I do not believe coaching institutes have much of a role in student suicides. We have to admit that JEE and NEET are very tough exams and hence the teaching and learning is also supposed to be of the same level. However, taking an aptitude test before sending students to Kota is very important. It is equally important that some sort of counselling and grooming is done at least two years before the child comes to Kota as a majority of these kids have never stayed away from home before,” Sushil added.

    (If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation – 04424640050 (available 24×7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences’ helpline – 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)

  • Yoga, zumba classes, mental wellness in focus as student suicides shake Kota

    By PTI

    KOTA (Rajasthan): From Yoga sessions and zumba classes to 24X7 helplines and mental wellness workshops, coaching institutes in Kota say they take multiple steps to help students tackle the anxiety of preparing for competitive exams.

    The coaching hub is back in focus after three students died last week — two of them were found hanging at their hostel rooms, and the third one allegedly consumed a poisonous substance.

    Prominent coaching institute Allen, which currently has over 1.5 lakh students in its various medical (NEET) and engineering (JEE) entrance preparatory courses, runs special programmes such as “Tum Hoge Kamyab” (you will succeed) and “Wings of Wisdom”, besides regular yoga sessions and zumba classes, for the mental wellbeing of its students.

    “We have a dedicated helpline which works round the clock and over 50 concerned calls from students or parents are addressed daily through it,” said Dr Harish Sharma, Principal Counsellor and Student-Behaviour Expert at Allen.

    “For every 10 students we have a supervising student who is called a buddy. The job of the buddy is to keep a check on the mental health of the group and inform the teachers if there are any symptoms or signs like someone is not eating properly for a few days, not coming out of room or attending classes or not talking to his or her parents,” he told PTI.

    He said professional counsellors available at the institute are roped in once the teachers have an idea that any student is going through some difficulties.

    “However, in certain cases where we realise that mere counselling will not help and the child needs proper treatment, we inform the parents to take the child with them for sometime and work on their mental health,” he added.

    The coaching behemoth also organises counselling sessions for parents to sensitise them about how to keep in touch with their child, without creating any pressure on them.

    “It is a very thin line,” Sharma said.

    “If parents do not keep in touch with their wards, it’s obvious they will not notice any change in their behaviour and will not know when their child needs help. On the other hand, if parents keep in constant touch, they often add to the burden and stress of students by reminding them of their struggles in sending the child to Kota or add the burden of their expectations.”

    ALSO READ | Kota suicides: Human Rights body affirms need to ‘regulate private coaching institutes’

    Typically, for students the day begins as early as 5.30 am with their first classes at 7 am.

    Coaching institutes have put in place a mechanism to let parents know if their child has attended the class.

    As soon students leave their hostel, they are supposed to mark an ‘exit’ using the biometric attendance system which automatically sends a message to the parents that the child is out of their accommodation.

    A similar message is sent to parents when the child enters the coaching institute.

    At Resonance, another prominent coaching institution, every student has a mentor to help him or her deal with academic and non-academic issues.

    “We encourage students to not only discuss their academic concerns but also non-academic issues which are causing stress or anxiety.

    Yoga sessions and concentration exercises are also among the activities that are encouraged among the students,” said RK Agarwal, the institute’s Managing Director and Academic Head.

    Notwithstanding such measures, students sometimes get trapped in the cycle of depression with multiple factor contributing to it.

    According to police and district administration records, at least 14 students studying in coaching centres in the city committed suicide this year.

    No student suicide was reported in 2021 when the coaching centres here were shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic and students attended online classes from their homes.

    The number stood at 18 in 2019 and 20 in 2020.

    Of the three students who died last week, NEET aspirant Ankush Anand (18) from and JEE aspirant Ujjwal Kumar (17) — both from Bihar — were found hanging from ceiling fans in their respective rooms at their paying guest (PG) accommodation on December 12, according to police.

    The third student, Pranav Verma (17), a NEET aspirant from Madhya Pradesh, allegedly consumed a poisonous substance in his hostel on December 11.

    In the current year, a record 2 lakh students are enrolled and studying in various coaching institutions in Kota.

    Naveen Mittal, the President of Kota Hostel Association, said similar measures are in place at the hostels too to help students cope with stress and anxiety.

    “Since each student lives in a single room accommodation to help them study better, it is not possible for the peers to always keep a check manually but we ensure that wardens regularly talk to the students,” he said.

    “Special fun zones have been created in the hostels for students’ recreation. Meditation sessions are also regularly conducted,” he said.

    (If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation – 04424640050 (available 24×7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences’ helpline – 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)

    KOTA (Rajasthan): From Yoga sessions and zumba classes to 24X7 helplines and mental wellness workshops, coaching institutes in Kota say they take multiple steps to help students tackle the anxiety of preparing for competitive exams.

    The coaching hub is back in focus after three students died last week — two of them were found hanging at their hostel rooms, and the third one allegedly consumed a poisonous substance.

    Prominent coaching institute Allen, which currently has over 1.5 lakh students in its various medical (NEET) and engineering (JEE) entrance preparatory courses, runs special programmes such as “Tum Hoge Kamyab” (you will succeed) and “Wings of Wisdom”, besides regular yoga sessions and zumba classes, for the mental wellbeing of its students.

    “We have a dedicated helpline which works round the clock and over 50 concerned calls from students or parents are addressed daily through it,” said Dr Harish Sharma, Principal Counsellor and Student-Behaviour Expert at Allen.

    “For every 10 students we have a supervising student who is called a buddy. The job of the buddy is to keep a check on the mental health of the group and inform the teachers if there are any symptoms or signs like someone is not eating properly for a few days, not coming out of room or attending classes or not talking to his or her parents,” he told PTI.

    He said professional counsellors available at the institute are roped in once the teachers have an idea that any student is going through some difficulties.

    “However, in certain cases where we realise that mere counselling will not help and the child needs proper treatment, we inform the parents to take the child with them for sometime and work on their mental health,” he added.

    The coaching behemoth also organises counselling sessions for parents to sensitise them about how to keep in touch with their child, without creating any pressure on them.

    “It is a very thin line,” Sharma said.

    “If parents do not keep in touch with their wards, it’s obvious they will not notice any change in their behaviour and will not know when their child needs help. On the other hand, if parents keep in constant touch, they often add to the burden and stress of students by reminding them of their struggles in sending the child to Kota or add the burden of their expectations.”

    ALSO READ | Kota suicides: Human Rights body affirms need to ‘regulate private coaching institutes’

    Typically, for students the day begins as early as 5.30 am with their first classes at 7 am.

    Coaching institutes have put in place a mechanism to let parents know if their child has attended the class.

    As soon students leave their hostel, they are supposed to mark an ‘exit’ using the biometric attendance system which automatically sends a message to the parents that the child is out of their accommodation.

    A similar message is sent to parents when the child enters the coaching institute.

    At Resonance, another prominent coaching institution, every student has a mentor to help him or her deal with academic and non-academic issues.

    “We encourage students to not only discuss their academic concerns but also non-academic issues which are causing stress or anxiety.

    Yoga sessions and concentration exercises are also among the activities that are encouraged among the students,” said RK Agarwal, the institute’s Managing Director and Academic Head.

    Notwithstanding such measures, students sometimes get trapped in the cycle of depression with multiple factor contributing to it.

    According to police and district administration records, at least 14 students studying in coaching centres in the city committed suicide this year.

    No student suicide was reported in 2021 when the coaching centres here were shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic and students attended online classes from their homes.

    The number stood at 18 in 2019 and 20 in 2020.

    Of the three students who died last week, NEET aspirant Ankush Anand (18) from and JEE aspirant Ujjwal Kumar (17) — both from Bihar — were found hanging from ceiling fans in their respective rooms at their paying guest (PG) accommodation on December 12, according to police.

    The third student, Pranav Verma (17), a NEET aspirant from Madhya Pradesh, allegedly consumed a poisonous substance in his hostel on December 11.

    In the current year, a record 2 lakh students are enrolled and studying in various coaching institutions in Kota.

    Naveen Mittal, the President of Kota Hostel Association, said similar measures are in place at the hostels too to help students cope with stress and anxiety.

    “Since each student lives in a single room accommodation to help them study better, it is not possible for the peers to always keep a check manually but we ensure that wardens regularly talk to the students,” he said.

    “Special fun zones have been created in the hostels for students’ recreation. Meditation sessions are also regularly conducted,” he said.

    (If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation – 04424640050 (available 24×7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences’ helpline – 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)

  • Three students in Rajasthan’s Kota die by suicide

    By Online Desk

    Three students in Rajasthan’s Kota reportedly died by suicide on Monday, reported NDTV. They were 16, 17, and 18 years old, and were preparing for competitive exams. 

    They were friends and were staying in the same hostel in adjacent rooms. 

    Ankush and Ujjwal, were from Bihar while the third student, Pranav, hailed from Madhya Pradesh.

    Ankush was preparing for the engineering college entrance exam.

    Ujjwal and Pranav were preparing for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate), a pre-medical entrance test.

    (If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation – 04424640050 (available 24×7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences’ helpline – 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)

    Three students in Rajasthan’s Kota reportedly died by suicide on Monday, reported NDTV. They were 16, 17, and 18 years old, and were preparing for competitive exams. 

    They were friends and were staying in the same hostel in adjacent rooms. 

    Ankush and Ujjwal, were from Bihar while the third student, Pranav, hailed from Madhya Pradesh.

    Ankush was preparing for the engineering college entrance exam.

    Ujjwal and Pranav were preparing for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate), a pre-medical entrance test.

    (If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation – 04424640050 (available 24×7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences’ helpline – 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)

  • Muslims shower petals, offer sharbat during Hanuman Jayanti procession in Kota

    By PTI

    KOTA: Amid incidents of communal clashes in parts of the country, Muslims in a locality here welcomed a Hanuman Jayanti procession by offering sharbat and showering petals.

    Giving the message of communal harmony, several Muslim youths exhibited their traditional martial art skills when the procession halted in front of a mosque while passing through the Kherabad area of Ramganj Mandi town.

    The procession started from the Hanuman temple in Kherabad village on Saturday evening and covered around two kilometers, passing through a Muslim-dominated area, with two mosques on its way.

    A majority of those who took part in the procession wore saffron clothes.

    Muslims led by Tahir Ahmad welcomed the procession, showering petals and offering garlands to those taking part in it.

    They also set up stalls outside the two mosques in the area and offered cold water and sharbat to the devotees.

    Ramganj Mandi SDM Rajesh Daga said the Muslims came out of the mosques to welcome the procession after offering evening namaz.

    When asked to join, Muslim youths displayed their martial art skills along with those from the Hindu community, he said.

    The SDM said the administration had held a meeting with representatives of the Muslim and Hindu communities ahead of the procession.

    The Muslims enthusiastically welcomed the procession, he said.

  • Massive fire breaks out at chemical factory in Rajasthan’s Kota

    By PTI

    KOTA: A massive fire broke out at a chemical factory in the Inderprastha area of the city on Friday morning, police said.

    There were no reports of any loss of life or injuries as nobody was present on the premises at the time of the fire, they said.

    The fire broke out around 7 am, and 16 fire tenders are at the spot, Sub-Inspector, Vigyan Nagar police station, Abdul Rashid said.

    He said an electrical short circuit may have caused it.

    Fire officials are trying to douse the flames and make way into the factory, but only around 30 per cent of the blaze has been brought under control, Devender Gautam, Assistant Fire Officer at Kota Municipal Corporation, said.

  • Private tutor arrested for raping 6-year-old girl in Rajasthan’s Kota: Police

    By PTI

    KOTA: A private tutor has been arrested on charges of raping a six-year-old girl in Kotsuwa village of this Rajasthan district, police said on Monday.

    A special court dealing with cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has remanded accused Abdul Rahim (43) in judicial custody, they added.

    Rahim used to give private tuition in Urdu to children and live in a room allotted by a local madrasa. He hails from Rampura in Kota, police said.

    The parents of the six-year-old girl got a complaint lodged against the accused at the Digod police station late on Sunday, alleging that Rahim asked her to stay back at the madrasa while asking the other students to leave after the class on Saturday afternoon and subsequently, raped her.

    On reaching home, the girl narrated her ordeal to her parents, police said. The accused was arrested soon after the case was lodged, they said, adding that he has been booked under Indian Penal Code section 376 (rape) and the relevant sections of the POCSO Act.

    The girl was sent for medical examination and her statement was recorded under section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), police said.

  • Students return to Kota as coaching institutes reopen with Covid measures in place 

    Express News Service

    JAIPUR: Thousands of students have now started flocking to Kota, the coaching capital of the country. 

    The economy of the city that revolves around the coaching industry has been badly dented by the Covid pandemic. People in the city are now praying for a rapid return to normalcy so that their earnings can start picking up.

    Over 1.5 lakh students come to this city to train for engineering and medical entrance exams every year. 

    The educational institutes in Rajasthan reopened on Wednesday after a five-month gap. Thousands of students who are willing to resume physical classes have restarted their coaching stints and about 30,000 students have come in from all parts of India over the past 10 days.  

    On the first day of offline classes, students clapped in unison to welcome their teachers when they arrived to conduct classes. All coaching centres have put in place several safety measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus. “Due to online classes, we had almost forgotten how offline classes can be so much fun. Our parents are worried about our safety but we will tell them that the arrangements in our centres are very good and there is nothing to worry about Covid here”, said Priyanka Gupta. 

    Another student Amit Kumar remarked: “As soon as we got the message about offline classes, we were keen to get back to Kota. I and all my friends are very excited on the first day of regular classes because now we can interact with our teachers and fellow students and there is simply no way that online classes can replace this in any way.” 

    ALSO READ | ‘Kota Factory’ season two heading to Netflix in September

    Kota has around 35-40 major coaching institutes. Around 3,000 hostels and as many messes and eateries offer food and accommodation to the students. These are crucial to boost the local economy which has been hit hard by the pandemic. The coaching industry generates annual revenue of over Rs 4,000 crore which has become the virtual backbone of the local economy. 

    From the autorickshaw driver to the small trader/vendor to mess and hostel owners, everyone is thrilled with the return of students. The president of the Hostel Association, Navin Mittal, confirms that over 30,000 students have returned to the city in the past 15 days. While assuring that all hostels/messes have put in place all Covid protocols, Mittal said, “it’s a very big relief for all of us as 70% of the city’s economy directly or indirectly depends on the coaching industry. The return of students is like oxygen for our hopes. We hope that the good times that we have lost over the past 18 months will soon return to Kota.”

    All coaching centres are following various safety measures. At hostels, messes and coaching centres, biometric attendance has been replaced with registers that have a column for categorising students with influenza-like illness (ILI). They are also being advised on regular medical care and are monitored by medical teams. The institutes say they have ensured that vaccination and complete compliance of Covid protocol take the top priority and almost the entire staff, faculties and students above 18 years have been inoculated at most of the coaching centres. 

    The coaching institutes have also been asked to ensure the students have RT-PCR negative report and vaccination certificates. The deputy director of the education department has been deputed as the nodal officer to supervise the reopening of classes and will also arrange special vaccination camps for students above 18 years.