Kota administration stays exams in coaching centres for two months as suicide cases rise

The district administration in Rajasthan’s Kota on Sunday stayed examinations at coaching centres for two months amid a surge in suicides among students preparing for engineering, medical and civil services examinations.

The administration took the decision hours after two students died by suicide in a single day. Their deaths took the number of suicides this year to 23 – the highest since 2015, The Indian Express reported.

Rajasthan | Tests/Examinations at coaching centres in Kota stayed for two months in continuation of "providing mental support and security" pic.twitter.com/RjykseWxiJ— ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) August 28, 2023

Sunday’s first death was of a 17-year-old from Maharashtra’s Latur. He had been preparing for the National Eligibility Entrance Test and stayed with his grandparents in the city for the last three years.

The police said he had jumped from the sixth floor of his coaching institute after taking a test.

Few hours later, an 18-year-old student from Bihar, who was also preparing for the medical entrance exam, was also found dead in his hostel room.

Doctor Bharat Singh Shekhawat told NDTV that no action has been taken by the Rajasthan government to curb the alarming rate of student deaths. The head of the psychiatry department at Kota Medical College said they had been suggesting measures to the authorities for the last 20 years.

“Students who are admitted...

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