Rajasthan government sets up committee to address issues on Kota student suicides

NEW DELHI: The Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has asked the officials to constitute a committe to address issues on Kota student suicides . The committee has been asked to provide suggestions as to how suicide cases among the students can be prevented. The committee will be required to submit the report within 15 days.

Reviewing a meeting on the alarming cases of suicide among the IIT and NEET aspirants in the coaching hub, Kota, the chief minister expressed concern over the rising incidences of suicides.

This year, around 20 students preparing for JEE Advanced and NEET in Kota have died by suicide so far.

The chief minister during the review meeting said the panel will be constituted under the supervision of Bhawani Detha, secretary of higher education, and will comprise stakeholders, including representatives of coaching institutes, parents and doctors, the Times of India has reported. It will submit a report on the matter in 15 days, he added.

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Reiterating that dummy schools have been putting a dual burden of clearing board exams and preparing for the entrance exams, the chief minister said: “Students are enrolled in dummy schools and they do not go to schools. They have dual burden of clearing board exams and to prepare for entrance exam.”

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Suggesting that Class 9 and 10 students should not be admitted to coaching institutes for IIT and AIIMS admission test, the chief minister said: “Enrolling Class 9 and 10 students in coaching institutes put extra burden on them since they also have to appear for board exams. You call students of Classes 9th and 10th. You are committing a crime in a way. It is as if IIT is god. As soon as students come to coaching, they are enrolled in fake schools. It is also a fault of the parents.”

Gehlot called for adding sports, entertainment activities and weekly offs to make learning more enjoyable and keep pressure away from the students.