18-year-old girl student, preparing for JEE, dies by suicide in Rajasthan’s Kota
This is the second such incident within a week in Kota, where children come from across the country to prepare for competitive tests. Last year, 27 students allegedly committed suicide here
An 18-year-old student, who was preparing for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) through online classes of a recognised coaching centre in Rajasthan’s Kota for admission in an engineering course, died by suicide, said police.
This is the second such incident within a week. Last year, 27 students allegedly committed suicide in Kota, where children come from across the country to prepare for competitive tests like JEE for admission to top engineering colleges.
“The student is a native of Kota. She was found at her residence in Shiv Vihar Colony under Borekheda police station area and was all set to take her JEE test on January 30 or 31,” circle officer DSP Dharmveer Singh said.
In a note which was recovered from the her room, she called herself a loser and also said sorry to her parents. “Mammy Papa, I can’t do JEE. So I commit suicide. I am loser. I worst daughter..sorry mammy papa, yehi last option hai,” said the victim in her last note.
According to police, the student was the eldest of three sisters. Her father is a security guard at a private bank in Kota, Singh said. The family hails from Akawdakhurd village in Jhalawar district and has been staying in the city for the last three years.
Her cousin, meanwhile, told reporters that she was under severe stress over the upcoming JEE test. She had to repeat her 12th Class exam because she had got a low score.
On Monday, her grandmother knocked on the door of her room in the morning but there was no response, following which the family broke open the door and found her hanging from the ventilation window above the door.
“The body was sent for an autopsy. Further investigation is underway,” said the DSP.
On January 23, a 19-year-old Uttar Pradesh based student, who had been preparing for NEET, died by suicide in his hostel room in Kota. Following the incident, the Kota district collector issued a notice to the hostel authority for violating the guidelines. Amid a surge in suicides among students last year, the district administration on August 18 had ordered all hostels and paying guest (PG) accommodations to install spring-loaded fans in rooms.
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 register 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.
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 on 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.
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 assess 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 ministry released specific instructions for functioning of coaching centres and restricted enrolment 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.
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