Rajasthan CM to hold meeting with heads of coaching institutes to address Kota students’ suicide

NEW DELHI: Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot will hold a meeting with the head of coaching institutes and other stakeholders over rising students’ suicide cases in Kota.

The CM said 18-19 students studying in coaching institutes in Kota have died by suicide this year, hence it is important to understand their concerns. In the most recent case, an 18-year-old IIT-JEE aspirant hailing from Gaya in Bihar had hanged himself in his PG room here on August 16.

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“I am trying to understand what kind of pressure students face after coming for coaching that they resort to the extreme step,” he said.

The Kota district authorities today ordered hostels in the city to install a spring device on ceiling fans to curb suicide attempts. Twenty students preparing for competitive exams in Kota have died by suicide so far this year, authorities say. As per the police, 15 students took the extreme step last year.

The district authorities had also discussed the issue with stakeholders on August 12. The district administration has also decided to conduct psychological tests every fortnight of students studying in coaching institutes. The officials said that the tests will help in finding out suicidal tendencies among students so that they could be provided with timely counselling.

"We are going to conduct a psychological test every fortnight of every coaching student, whether he is in a coaching institute, hostel or PG," Kota district collector OP Bunkar said.