JAIPUR: After a spate of suicides and disappearances of students, worried parents say Kota is no longer a place they can leave their children alone.
But mental health experts said responsible parenting and respect for children's academic abilities are essential to arresting more cases like this.
Priya Sharma, a journalist from Patna, quit her well-cushioned job to spend time with her son, a Class XI student currently taking JEE coaching. “With the alarming rise in suicides and disappearances, I couldn't imagine leaving my son alone here. It is not safe to leave any student in this coaching hub. I had no interest in letting him go here, but he seemed persistent because some of my classmates are coming here. They are staying in a hostel, but I am staying with him. I quit my job to be here.”
Kota, which is a center for coaching students to pass the country's toughest entrance exams, JEE and NEET, and attracts about 200,000 students from all over the country, has been experiencing a spate of suicides and disappearances. 26 cases in 2023, 5 alarming cases of suicide already in 2024, at least 3 missing people, stress due to intense competition and peer pressure while pursuing excellence The city is mired in depression, depression, and despair. The number of suicides was 15 in 2022, 18 in 2019, 20 in 2018, 7 in 2017, 17 in 2016, and 18 in 2015.
The state government has implemented mandatory pre-admission screening tests, the formation of sections not based on rank or performance, banning the glorification of top students, and hiring trained professional psychiatrists to check students' mental health on a regular basis. Although we have come up with strict guidelines such as counseling, compulsory holidays, half-day fun and respite from regular rigorous exams, the number of suicides has not decreased.
Raksha Rajesh, clinical psychologist at Mistu.care, said: Deccan Herald“To arrest cases like this, we need systemic change. First we have to check the aptitude of the students, we have to check if the child can withstand it. It's a domino effect. Like, lack of proper and wise parenting, high expectations, seeing students only from an academic perspective, social comparisons, etc. all combine to lead to students taking that extreme step. Some students are able to resist, while others succumb to it.”
She said that individualized parenting is the most important factor in giving children a sense of security. Parents must reassure their children and make them understand that failure is a part of life and not the end of everything. Children must overcome their fear of failure with the help of their parents. In this harsh environment where there is peer pressure and teachers are often abusive, parents must maintain constant communication with their children and monitor for any unusual behavioral changes. Parents need to understand that there is a fine line between motivating and pressuring. Children's emotional safety lies in their families. The child must have the courage to tell her parents that she is not cut out for this undue pressure.
Officials at Allen, one of the leading coaching institutes, said government guidelines to have teachers, hostel managers, cleaners and tiffin service providers spot signs of depression were being followed.
(issued February 21, 2024, 21:13 IST)
