The "gold rush" to Kota began in the early 1990s, earning it the nickname "the new Kashi" of education after Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the city. Currently, around 1.77 lakh students from across India are enrolled in nine major institutes, including Allen Career Institute, Motion Education, Resonance, Bansal, Aakash, Career Point, Physics Wallah, and Unacademy. The coaching institutes are the lifeblood of the city, with over 4,000 student hostels and 40,000 paying guest facilities.
Why has it recently been in the news for the wrong reasons?
According to NDTV News, Kota has witnessed 13 student deaths by suicide so far this year. It’s only the beginning of August, and other such news is already revolving around the news channels. Hindustan Times reported that a 16-year-old student preparing for the National Entrance Eligibility Test (NEET) in Rajasthan’s Kota was found dead, allegedly by suicide, in his hostel room on Sunday morning, 4 August 2024 .
This number was a stark 27 last year. In India, it is common for students to engage in coaching programs along with their regular schooling to prepare for competitive entrance tests in fields such as medicine and engineering. According to Arora (2016), Competition for admission to top engineering and medical institutes in India is fierce due to a limited number of available seats and a large applicant pool.
It is true that many of the two lakh-odd students going to Kota every year end up succeeding. However, not every student can handle the pressure, which is quite abnormal psychologically.
The relentless competition among aspirants is fuelled by weekly tests, publicised results, and a fast-paced curriculum. Students find themselves trapped in gruelling 12-hour work schedules, seven days a week, far from their families and friends.
There's a lack of support for those who struggle, and the pressure to succeed is immense. Scott Wilks, Associate Professor at LSU School of Social Work, defines academic stress as “the body’s response to academic-related demands that exceed students’ adaptive capabilities.” It negatively affects their academic performance and students' physical and mental health.
However, it's important to note that it's not all doom and gloom. With the right coping techniques, students can navigate this stress constructively and maintain their productivity in the long run.
Studies have been conducted on coaching students in different parts of India to address the concerns related to stress. Indian studies by doctors and mental health professionals have identified a range of factors contributing to academic stress among coaching students, including long hours of study, competition with other students, pressure to perform well in examinations, and the fear of failure.
After careful understanding through student testimonials of these coaching centres, we were able to summarise the major stressors for the students in these centres:
1. Competitive Atmosphere
Students from all over India flee to Kota to prepare for IIT JEE and NEET. When you enter Kota and roam around the city, you will find hoardings of various coachings flashing and boasting about the selections in various exams. You will find the city filled with migrant students coming to Kota with just one aim in mind: to crack the exam.
2. Finance
Students coming to Kota usually belong to middle-class families. The money at stake increases the pressure and stress to perform well and get selected. The amount invested is vast, including the coaching fees, room rent, mess charges, and various miscellaneous expenditures. Families have to make a lot of sacrifices to send their children to Kota.
3. Frog in the well
The students who come to Kota after 10th grade are usually toppers in their respective schools. Most students have scored a perfect 10 CGPA. After going there, you learn about the national competition because everyone is the best in their school.
4. Periodic Tests & Batch shuffling
Centres conduct periodic tests and shuffle the student batches after 2-3 periodic tests to filter students according to marks scored. A lower score on the test can be demotivating, but the role of parents here is crucial. Most parents panic after low test scores, and this is reflected in their conversations with their children. However, it's important for parents to remember that their support and encouragement can significantly boost their child's confidence after a bad test performance.
5. Batch strength and Lack of confidence
Usually, the batch strength in the coaching institutes is 150-250. Studying with a large mass in a single class creates extra pressure. Due to a lack of confidence, you are not able to clear your doubts in class as you find it difficult to raise your voice and hand.
6. Lack of recreation & sports activities
Students get trapped in the circle of Daily Practice Problems, solving sheets. Kota lacks sports complexes and grounds on which to play. Sports act as a stress buster, but coaching institutes do not provide such facilities.
7. Expectations
The whole family expects from you. You fear what will happen if you don't fulfill the expectations. “Log kya kahenge?” (“What will people say?”) or “ghar wale kya sochenge” (“What will relatives, neighbors, and friends think?”) becomes a large, undoubtedly unignorable evil for the students.
Let us also understand the correlation between stress, along with other mental health issues, and increasing suicide rates in students.
Indian Journal of Public Health Research and Development, in a 2020 research, found that there is a significant positive correlation between the academic stress and suicidal ideation of Allen students. “ Students with academic stress and academic problems , an unsupportive environment at home perceived life as a burden and had higher rates of suicidal ideation,” said Arun & Chavan, Psychiatrists at Government Medical College, Chandigarh, in 2017.
Franca Okechukwu, Department of Home Science, Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Nigeria, researched that Suicide has been linked to academic stress, which appears to be a significant stressor for students
About 1.5 lakh students study in over 100 coaching centres in Kota. There is a highly competitive environment, and students often end up in stress and even suicide in extreme, unfortunate cases. So, estimating the magnitude of this problem and timely intervention and suicide prevention strategies can significantly benefit students.
Preventing student suicides
Centres for Disease Control & Prevention suggests Strategies to Prevent Suicide:
Strengthen economic supports
- Improve household financial security
- Stabilize housing
Create protective environments
- Reduce access to lethal means among persons at risk of suicide
- Create healthy organizational policies and culture
- Reduce substance use through community-based policies and practices
Improve access and delivery of suicide care
- Cover mental health conditions in health insurance policies
- Increase provider availability in underserved areas
- Provide rapid and remote access to help
- Create safer suicide care through systems change
Promote healthy connections
- Promote healthy peer norms
- Engage community members in shared activities
Teach coping and problem-solving skills
- Support social-emotional learning programs
- Teach parenting skills to improve family relationships
- Support resilience through education programs
Identify and support people at risk
- Train gatekeepers
- Respond to crises
- Plan for safety and follow-up after an attempt
- Provide therapeutic approaches
Lessen harm and prevent future risk
- Intervene after a suicide (postvention)
- Report and message about suicide safely
Experts say that most of the suicides are due to fear of failure and the burden of expectations from family, Sudden changes in surroundings, test results, and batch reshuffle issues.
Kota, a city in Rajasthan, is famous for its jewellery, sarees, and Kota stones. But it is popular among the Indian youth for something completely unrelated. For its engineering and medical coaching institutes, the focus of our blog today!
Most students who get past JEE Mains, JEE Advanced or NEET, arguably one of the most challenging cycles of entrance exams in the world, for sheer scale and competition, credit their success to the coaching institutes in Kota for their innovative, structured and personalised teaching methods employed.
This blog helps us establish that Kota is not only a hub for competitive exam coaching but also witnessing one of the highest numbers of youth suicides. So, every coin does indeed have two sides, after all!
Parents should make their children psychologically stronger and keep telling their wards that whatever the results of the exams (success or failure), they are always with them and will support them under any circumstances. Coaching institutes should also come forward and continue to counsel weaker students. Especially those who suffer from academic stress, depression, and suicidal ideation.
Supportive relationships and community connectedness can help protect individuals against suicide despite the presence of risk factors in their lives. Find your connections and reach out if they need your help. Who would you reach out to when you wish to seek help?
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Suicide Helplines
iCALL: 9152987821
Kiran, 24/7 National Toll-free Mental Health Rehabilitation Helpline: 18005990019
