Suicides by coaching students in Kota increasing
The town, which has an estimated four thousand hostels and an equal number of PG (paying guest) accommodations, has been witness to a number of suicides by the students in the past few years, owing to what many say pressure to succeed.
Kota, a small town in Rajasthan, is famous in the country as a coaching hub for the students, who are aspiring to join prestigious engineering and medical institutions in the country.
The town, which has an estimated four thousand hostels and an equal number of PG (paying guest) accommodations, has been witness to a number of suicides by the students in the past few years, owing to what many say pressure to succeed.
According to the reports, as many as 20 students from different coaching institutions in Kota died by suicide between January and July this year alone. A majority of those, who died by suicide, hailed from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the reports said.
Reports also said that more than 1.5 lakh students arrive in Kota from different parts of the country to receive coaching to get admission in the IITs and leading medical colleges in the country every year.
The experts say that suicides have been increasing mainly owing to the pressure on the students to succeed. ‘’A student who is unable to succeed slips into depression and ends his or her life thinking that he or she has been a failure,’’ says an expert.
At times, the students are also under pressure from their parents, who send them to Kota in the hope that they will crack the competitive examinations and get admitted to the IITs and other medical colleges in the country.
Sometimes the parents also scold their children if they feel that they are lagging behind others in the class. This is another reason for the suicides.
‘’Parents should never force their children to study any particular subject….the children should be allowed to choose whatever he or she wants to study….let them enjoy the study and suicides will stop,’’ says Shikha Mishra, a mother of two.
