Kota is popularly known as the coaching hub of India. In its own glory as the home for all leading coaching institutes forget about the wellbeing of its biggest assets, its students. They might take prestige in exhibiting the racked-up ranks achieved by students in IITs or NEET, but the fact cannot be hidden under the belly that the city also is the home to a large number of suicide cases attempted by students majorly. Around 1.5 to 2 lakh students choose to leave the comfort of their homes every year and step into the bustling race of ranks.

These 16-17-year-olds, not even complete adults, are left in the breeding ground of toxic competition, stress, pressure, anxiety, and performance discrimination. Such high rates of mental suffering at an early age are highly alarming. The biggest contributors to this are the revenue-focused coaching institutes in Kota. Profit and reputation are what they seek above the well-being of a child. Reports reveal that the coaching industry in Kota generates a profit of Rs. 6000 crore annually. This is the price that students and their families pay and yet get placed second in priority.

A Multitude of Reasons that Lead to Student’s Stress Resulting in Almost 15 Suicides in Past Six Months

Reading the data of students who choose suicide as an option will run chills through your body. 15 students in past six months of 2023 have attempted suicide, 15 in 2022 and nearly 150 in the past decade. It hints towards the deeply flawed system that we are living in. It is highly disgraceful for us as a society that students find suicide as an easier option to get rid of their pressure and stress. Life is precious and it is high time we play our roles as parents, friends, family and stakeholders in standing strong with children no matter the failure or the stress that is taking a toll on these juvenile’s minds.

Let us have a look at the set of reasons that contribute to this decision of suicide by the students specifically in Kota:

1. Juveniles are underqualified to handle the intense pressure

Most students who come to Kota with a desire to prepare and get into most high-ranking IITs or with an aspiration to become a doctor are 16-17 years of age. The law itself defines everyone under the age of 18 years as a juvenile or minor. Such young minds are burdened with a number of things on their mind, all circling around intense pressure. Miles away from home and surrounded by academic pressure, competition, fear, failure, parental pressure and the list goes on. They were certainly ill-prepared about this side of the story before stepping into this toxic environment.

2. Pressure to return their parent’s investment

With the commencement of a new session every year, Kota experiences a substantial inflow of new students accompanied by their parents. With a sparkling ray of hope in their eyes, the parents leave their child with an expectation of a fruitful return. The unsaid responsibility to pay back financial investments in the form of high ranks and selections weighs the shoulders of young children with immense pressure. The fear of failing, both in bagging good ranks and in meeting the parent’s expectations, weighs down the morale of already stressed young minds.

3. Favouritism within coaching institutions

The toxic environment of coaching institutes cultures favouritism to those who rank higher than others in the routine tests. The others are left all by themselves, neglected and made to feel unworthy to be praised. These teenagers develop a feeling of inadequacy and constantly run in the fight to be noticed irrespective of the mental toll all this takes on them. Certain examples include biased treatment towards rankers like the use of lifts only allowed to rankers, AC study rooms, special attention in question-solving sessions and many others while the rest of the students stand neglected. Hard work is one crucial aspect, but ill feelings and unfair treatment takes the students nowhere more than a gloomy and distressing routine.

4. The Dummy School Trend

The importance of a school stands merely to fulfil the formal academic requirements in the minds of these aspirants. While they only focus on coaching. Our flawed education system fails to address this issue in spite of having known the importance of holistic development of a student. All the crucial aspects of creativity, development, and growth get side-lined in this race of taking tests. It is unaffected until it is only the schools that are called “Dummy”. If this trend of commercialisation of schools and education persists, the greed to earn profit might start taking students as “dummy money vending machines”.

5. Forced Ambitions and Parental Pressure

A series of unfulfilled dreams and unrealistic goals, make a dent in a child’s personal desire to have a future of choice. The young child out of his/her love for the parents accepts to run the race which might be an ultimately suffocating journey. The lives of such children are left with no energy to fight for their own dreams. The turmoil of emotions subdues their desires, resulting in a state of helplessness so early in their life.

6. Absence of Counselling and Support

Students who are left all by themselves, seek every kind of emotional support either from their mentors or parents. While, the coaching institutes focus merely on profit-generating mindset, and fail to care about the mental health of their students. The parents, in their space full of hope and expectations, suppress their child’s comfort to come and talk about their internal battles. As a result, young minds find a way to navigate through their mental turmoil all alone. Some may succeed to get through while others find taking their own life an easier option.

The Poor Principles of Coaching Industry: Heedless to Suicides

The profit-oriented coaching institutes in Kota generate a revenue of Rs. 600 crore a year. Known to produce successful and high-ranking IIT and NEET aspirants, the city is full of hoardings that display high marks and ranks achieved by students from respective institutes. Each coaching institute spends lakhs of money in maintaining its reputation through advertisements. However, their ruthless behaviour to gain higher profits treat students as commodities. It is the students and their families who pay the cost of this success. Overshadowing a student’s well-being, the multiple coaching institutes run to compete with each other in terms of reputation and profit.

At such a young age, these teenagers are subjected to gruelling schedules, intense pressure, burdening expectations, and unreal competition. Their individuality is reduced to mere score-seekers. Barely any thought is laid on the emotional and psychological needs of students. The industry must remould its system and lay emphasis on the mental health of its students by dedicating mentors, counselling sessions, and a healthy environment.

The harsh reality of profit-oriented coaching institutes in Kota cannot be concealed under the high success rate in IITs and NEET. The high rate of student suicides in Kota is a strong indicator towards the insensitive and toxic space that we leave our children in! To protect the mental well-being and nurture our young children is what is expected out of these highly renowned institutions. 150 student suicide cases have been reported in the last decade. It is a testament to the flawed system of education in our country.

The parents, guardians, coaching institutes and policymakers must collectively take control to prioritize the mental health of our children above any other objective. The dire need to set up counselling facilities, mental health support systems, and an emphasis on a growth and development-oriented curriculum instead of a rank and score-oriented environment.