Kota: Lakhs of students come to Rajasthan’s coaching hub Kota every year with dreams of getting into some of the country’s most prestigious colleges but many soon find themselves bogged down by hectic routines, peer pressure and the burden of expectations, according to experts.
It’s not the fear of failing an exam but its “aftermath” — insult and humiliation — which pushes them to end their lives, the experts said.
The recent suicides of three students preparing for competitive exams here have triggered a fresh debate over the factors that prompt students to take the extreme step.
Students often find it harder to cope with the emotional stress rather than that of studies, Dr Harish Sharma, principal psychologist at Allen Career Institute here told PTI.
“Academics-related stress among students is not as high as emotional stress. The students are not actually afraid of failing an exam but of its aftermath — insult and humiliation. So they prefer to go into escapist mode,” he said.
The burden of expectations of others clubbed with that of their own expectations is often what demotivates students, Sharma said.
“The parenting style is the same as it was in the 1970s, while the child has a modern brain of 2022 and demands a scientific explanation for whatever he is asked to do. At times, parents make their child do something that he or she may not want to do. The burden of expectations of others as well as their own demotivates children,” he said.
Back-to-back lectures, test series, a constant race to outdo one’s peers and trying to keep pace with the curriculum — this is what the average day of a student studying in a Kota coaching centre looks like.
Amid this tight schedule, many students watch web series to catch a breather but often don’t know when to stop, causing them to lag behind in their studies, Sharma said.
“The addiction to web series is severe. Their effect is 4,000 times more than a shot of dopamine (feel-good hormone). Students do not stop watching a web series unless they finish it.
“We often find students suffering from electronic screen syndrome, with swollen and red eyes,” he said.
At least 14 students studying in coaching centres here have committed suicide this year.
Of the three students who committed suicide last week, NEET aspirant Ankush Anand (18) from Bihar and JEE aspirant Ujjwal Kumar (17) from Bihar Gaya district were found hanging from ceiling fans in their respective rooms at their paying guest (PG) accommodation on December 12, according to police.
The third student, Pranav Verma (17), a NEET aspirant from Madhya Pradesh, allegedly consumed a poisonous substance in his hostel on December 11.
However, no student suicide was reported in 2021, when the coaching centres here were shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic and students attended online classes from their homes.
The number of suicides by coaching centre students stood at 18 in 2019 and 20 in 2020.
This year, a record 2 lakh students are studying in various coaching institutions in Kota.
Dr Chandra Shekhar Sushil, Head of Department of Psychiatry, New Medical College Hospital here said instead of pushing their children to become doctors and engineers, parents should make their children take an aptitude test and then decide what’s best for them.
“I do not believe coaching institutes have much of a role in student suicides. We have to admit that JEE and NEET are very tough exams and hence the teaching and learning is also supposed to be of the same level.
“However, taking an aptitude test before sending students to Kota is very important. Some parents forcibly send their children here because they want their children to become doctors or engineers and do not consider the fact whether they are capable of doing it or not,” he said.
“Children are often worried about face-saving if they do not clear the exam. They need to be counselled that there is life beyond engineering and medicine too and there are several career options available to choose from,” he added.
According to Narendra Kumar, a hostel warden in Landmark area here, most of the parents feel they have done their duty after their child gets admission in a coaching centre and they have paid the fees.
“Parents of only 25 per cent students living in the hostel make regular enquiries about their children by speaking to the hostel caretaker, while the remaining 75 per cent enquire once in 2-3 months,” he said.
The district administration has now directed coaching institutes to ensure that they have onboard a psychologist and also guide students on career options other than JEE (engineering) and NEET (medical).
