The rising number of student suicides in Kota is a matter of grave concern, and it has sent shockwaves throughout the nation.
Kota Suicide: The rising number of student suicides in Kota is a matter of grave concern, and it has sent shockwaves throughout the nation. The Rajasthan government is making significant efforts to address the situation, but unfortunately, despite these efforts, the incidence of student suicides continues to escalate. As part of its response, the state government has recently issued a comprehensive nine-page set of guidelines aimed at regulating coaching institutes.
Kota Suicide: Rajasthan Government Guidelines for Coaching Centres
No glorification of toppers, results of routine tests to be kept confidential, no segregation of students in special batches based on their ranks, and a policy for easy exit and refund within 120 days are among the recommendations made in the Rajasthan government’s guidelines for coaching institutes. The nine-page guidelines were issued days after the state government set up a 15-member committee headed by Education Secretary Bhawani Singh Detha to examine the issue after record student suicides were reported from coaching hub Kota.
Restrict Institutions From Encouraging Students Below Class 9 to Take Admission to Coaching Institutes
The guidelines, which have been framed in consultation with the coaching institutes and other stakeholders, restrict institutes from encouraging students below Class 9 to take admission in coaching institutes to prepare for medical and engineering entrance exams. “Coaching institutes should not encourage students below Class 9 to take admission. They should give admission after screening tests and counselling to assess their interest. If any registered student below Class 9 wants to leave, the institute should provide them a full refund in 120 days,” the guidelines state, news agency PTI reported.
No Exam On the Day After A Holiday: Rajasthan Government Guidelines for Coaching Centres
There is a set of other recommendations for institutes to ease mental pressure on the students such as facial recognition to prevent faking attendance, mandatory weekly holidays, not holding exams on the day after a holiday and a code of conduct for faculty and hostels. District collectors have been asked to sensitise all stakeholders in their respective areas and ensure that the guidelines are followed.
Kota Suicide Cases Highest
This year has seen the highest number of student suicides — 23 so far — with two ending their lives within a gap of a few hours on August 27. As per to official figures, 23 students have committed suicide in Kota this year, the highest ever for the country’s coaching hub. Last year, the figure was 15. The guidelines state legal action will be taken against the coaching institutes found violating the code of conduct. The regulations also mention a monitoring cell for the institutes that will be set up in Kota and Sikar. The cell will have data of all the students studying in coaching institutes through a dedicated portal, to be developed soon by the state government.
Easy Exit And Refund Policy Within 120 days
The guidelines have a provision for an “easy exit and refund policy” within 120 days if students and parents feel any inconvenience and uneasiness.
Coaching Batches To be Alphabetical Instead of Students Rank
It even directs the institutes to decide the batches alphabetically instead of the students’ ranks and not to shuffle and segregate them in the middle of the course based on performances in the weekly assessments. The guidelines also instruct the coaching institutes to not release the results of routine tests in public and they should counsel the students individually, keeping their marksheets confidential. Moreover, the guidelines strictly prohibit coaching institutes from glorifying toppers.
Rajasthan Government Bill
The Rajasthan government drafted a bill in 2022 to prohibit institutes from glorifying the success of toppers but it was not tabled in the assembly. The new guidelines also include mandatory gatekeeper training for the teachers, institute managers, other staff, and the wardens of hostels and paying guest accommodations to assess the students’ behavioural changes and take preventive measures. “A trilateral memorandum of understanding will be signed with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), the state government and the people who daily communicate with the students such as coaching institutes and the hostel management for such training,” the guidelines said, PTI reported.
The institutes have also been directed to appoint a sufficient number of professional psychiatrists and counsellors, who should be “recruited by NIMHANS or any psychology expert from a government medical college”, to keep a regular check on the students’ psychological health. The students will also have to be counselled regularly. The first counselling should be done within 45 days of admission, followed by the second one after 90 days and the third one in 120 days. Vulnerable students assessed during the counselling sessions should be provided optional career counselling, it further says.
Over 2.5 lakh students move to Kota annually to prepare for competitive exams such as the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) for engineering and the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to medical colleges.
Spring Loaded Fans
In response to the alarming surge in suicide cases, the authorities have implemented various measures. These include making it mandatory to install anti-hanging devices in ceiling fans and issuing a directive to coaching institutes not to take any exam for two months. The anti-hanging device installation has been encouraged by the Kota Hostel Association since 2017 and finally mandated by the district administration this year.
This is how the device works: If an object weighing more than 20 kilos is hung from the fan, the spring attached to it expands, making it impossible for someone to commit suicide by this method. Simultaneously, a siren goes off. To prevent students from taking any extreme step, “Anti-suicide nets” are also being installed in balconies and lobbies of hostels in Kota.
The police in Kota are also roping IN hostel wardens, mess workers, and tiffin service providers to actively monitor and identify any potential signs of depression or stress among students residing in hostels and paying guest accommodations.
(With PTI Inputs)