Kota city of Rajasthan is called a factory, from where engineering and medical students leave after studying and get admission in the best institutes of the country. But for the past few years, the name of the city of Kota is in discussion for some other reason – that is the suicide of the children preparing for the examination.
Students are not friends, they are competitors
In the last one month, four children have committed suicide in Kota. After the increasing incidents of suicide, the Chief Minister of the state had also expressed concern over this and warned the coaching institutes in strong words. He had said that if a child does not become God after passing the IIT exam, then stop putting pressure on the children. After this warning of the government, the opinion of many experts has come to the fore, they say that the students studying here are not friends, they are only competitors. Authorities say that 20 candidates preparing for competitive exams in Kota have committed suicide so far in 2023, which is more than last year (15 suicides).
baby gets lonely
With a busy day-to-day study routine, door-to-door competition, constant pressure to perform, expectations from parents and the pain of being away from home, students say they often find themselves alone and don’t turn to their peers to share their feelings. No person is present with him. Experts say that parents see friendship as a potential distraction from their children’s studies and discourage them from making friends. Riddhima Swami, a NEET aspirant from Madhya Pradesh, said, there is no principle of friendship here… there are only competitors. Every student sitting next to you is seen as an additional competitor that you have to compete with. Unlike school and college, no one here shares notes with you because everyone sees you as a threat who can snatch your seat in the preferred college.
Children struggling with lack of options
Mansi Singh, an Odisha resident who has been living here for the last two years and preparing for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), says life in Kota feels like running on a “treadmill”. He said, “It is like running on a treadmill. You have only two options, either get down or keep running. You cannot stop nor slow down your speed. You just have to keep running. Dinesh Sharma, head of the psychology department of Government Nursing College, said that the students are neither able to tell their heart to anyone here nor do they develop sympathy towards other colleagues. He said, “When parents drop their children here, their first instruction is that don’t waste your time in friendship, you have come here to study. When parents look at it negatively then students feel that something is wrong in it and it should not be done.
Children need love and guidance
Psychologists also believe that when children go away from home for studies, they feel very lonely. If friends are also like their enemies, then how will the children be able to handle themselves. In these circumstances many times they become addicted to drugs, and many times they take a path like suicide. Since children are in adolescence they become very discouraged. In these situations, they need proper guidance, which the coaching institutes are not giving them. They are not even understanding their mental condition and are only giving them bookish knowledge. In these circumstances the role of parents becomes very important.
Signs of stress are clearly visible in children
Kota Additional Superintendent of Police (SP) Chandrasheel Thakur also echoed Dinesh Sharma saying that who says when a child is under stress he shows symptoms and only when he is away from his family. It is his friends only, who are the first to see his condition. He said, there is no joint exercise in coaching institutes. There is only one person’s journey and these students often find themselves alone. It happens many times when the students living together in the hostel inform us that someone has locked themselves inside the room and we reach there in time. Most of the students here are away from their families for the first time…so making friends can be very helpful and should be encouraged. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot last week directed officials to set up a committee to provide suggestions to prevent suicides. The committee will comprise all stakeholders including coaching institutes, family members and doctors and it will submit its report within 15 days.
(with language input)