The suicide city of Kota.

A recent survey conducted on the instructions of the district administration in Rajasthan's Kota city, which has grown to be a major coaching hub of the country, has confirmed that a large number of students there are suffering from severe depression and other mental health problems. The survey was conducted between April and September this year. Keep in mind, there were 19 reported student suicides during this period. If these are added, the number of students who have committed suicide this year rises to 25. In view of the increasing number of suicides among students, the district administration started keeping their records from 2015 and till date this year has the highest number of suicides in any single year.

During the survey, 83 such students were found who were victims of severe depression. Two students were found on the verge of suicide. All these were immediately counselled, not only that, but after informing the coaching center and parents, necessary steps were taken to provide relief to them. But these efforts are not enough, as is evident from the fact that there were reports of student suicides even while the survey was underway. And even then the rounds of counseling were going on. Besides, other efforts to prevent suicide by the government and NGOs were also running parallel.

As the survey report also suggests, the root of the problem lies elsewhere. When students come to Kota, they spend the first month or two roaming around the city and having fun. The situation changes when the coaching education comes to an end altogether. The feeling of not being able to keep up with the day-to-day studies and being left behind in the competition proves overwhelming for these students living alone away from home and family. The problem in Kota is certainly seen in its most serious form, but it is national in nature. After all, if 20 lakh students compete for 1.25 lakh seats, as seen in WEI-SHEI, the intense nature of competition can be easily estimated. After all, why is it that even today the middle class families of the country see their children succeeding in their careers only after getting medical or IIT?

Unless effective efforts are made to change this situation, false precedents like quotas will continue to prevail. After the increasing cases of student suicides in Kota, the discussion of banning coaching centers has gained momentum. 16-year-old Richa (name changed) from Jharkhand committed suicide by hanging herself on September 13. After Richa's death, the Jharkhand Private Schools and Children's Welfare Association held coaching institutes responsible for student suicides. The association says coaching institutes are licking the education system like termites.

There are many prayers written on the wall of Kota's Radhakrishna Temple, in which students have prayed to God to make us doctors with higher scores. Many such vows, resolutions and petitions are engraved on the walls of this temple. A Vidyathani wrote that please, God make me a doctor to keep my dad happy... -Dr. Swati... If you try to understand the psychology of a daughter preparing for a competitive exam from this one sentence, a painful picture emerges.

Even if he is not a doctor, he has written doctor before his name. He fears that his father's dream may not come true. She is praying to God to get high marks in the exam. Imagine the mental pressure these children must be under. Fear of failure, fear of not being chosen, fear of failing in the eyes of parents, fear of not living up to the world's expectations. This fear and pressure has taken the lives of 25 different children in Kota so far this year. According to the National Crime Records Bureau report, 13,089 students committed suicide in 2021-22 across the country.