NEET aspirant dies by suicide in Kota, 6th case this year

A 20-year-old student, who was preparing for the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) for admission in undergraduate medical courses, died by suicide in Rajasthan’s Kota district on Tuesday, police said on Wednesday, the sixth such incident in the coaching hub this year.
Last year, 27 students, preparing for various competitive examinations, died by suicide in the district.
According to Vigyan Nagar station house officer (SHO) Satish Chand, the student from Uttar Pradesh’s Kannauj died by suicide at his rented apartment on Tuesday.
“The incident came to light when he did not respond to his parents’ calls on Tuesday morning, prompting them to call his friends. His friends later reached his apartment, called the landlord and the security guard, and found his body after breaking the door,” the SHO said.
The deceased was studying at a coaching centre in Kota for over a year and had shifted to the apartment a few days ago. Police said no suicide note was recovered from the spot and that the student’s parents were informed about his death.
“The body has been sent for an autopsy. We are probing whether there were any behavioural changes in him,” Chand said.
Kota is the centre of India’s test-prep business, estimated to be worth ₹10,000 crore annually, according to officials in the district administration. Students from around the country arrive here in huge numbers after completing Class X, and register in residential test-prep institutes. They also enroll in schools, most of which are largely for purposes of certification.
Students attend classes only in the test-prep institutes, which prepare them for their Class XII examination, but more importantly, entrance examinations such as NEET and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE). Some students find the grind stressful, especially because they are away from their families.
On March 8, a 16-year-old student from Bihar, who was preparing for Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for admission in engineering courses, died by suicide in Kota, leaving behind a purported note for his father where he said he is struggling to pursue the course.
On February 19, a 16-year-old JEE aspirant from Madhya Pradesh, who was studying in Kota and went missing for over 10 days, was found dead in Chambal forest area.
On February 13, a 16-year-old from Chhattisgarh, who appeared for the first edition of JEE-Main, died by suicide in Kota district, a day after the National Testing Agency published the answer key for the exam, police said. It appeared that he had scored very low in the exam, police added.
On January 29, an 18-year-old student from Kota died by suicide days ahead of the JEE-Main exam, leaving behind a purported note for her parents where she said she cannot attempt the exam.
On January 23, a 19-year-old student from Uttar Pradesh, who was preparing for NEET, allegedly died by suicide in the district.
Meanwhile, on February 18, a 28-year-old student who was pursuing B.Tech online from an Ahmedabad-based college died by suicide. Police said the student was depressed for a few months and was undergoing treatment. To be sure, the student wasn’t preparing for any competitive exam and was not enrolled in any coaching centre.
According to police data, 15 students died by suicide in Kota in 2022, 18 in 2019, 20 in 2018, seven in 2017, 17 in 2016, and 18 in 2015. No suicides were reported in 2020 and 2021 as coaching institutes were shut or ran in online mode due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
On September 28, the Rajasthan government announced a series of measures to prevent suicides among students, such as a mandatory screening test, the alphabetical sorting of students into sections instead of a ranking-based one, and the admission of students who are in Class IX or higher.
The guidelines also recommended mandatory training for teachers, institute managers, other staff, and the wardens of the hostels and paying guest accommodations to enable them assess behavioural changes of students and take further preventive measures.
The government warned of legal action against faculty of coaching institutes if they violated any of the regulations.
On January 16, the Union education minister also released specific instructions for functioning of coaching centres and restricted enrollment above the age of 16. It warned of a penalty of ₹1,00,000 for institutes in case of any violation of the terms and conditions.