Rajasthan Minister of Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Pratap Singh Khachariyawas.
Credit: Government of Rajasthan
Even as authorities in Rajasthan's Kota district directed coaching institutes to stop conducting routine tests for students preparing for NEET and other competitive exams for the next two months in the wake of suicides by a number of aspirants, state Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas has appealed to students to "leave bad company and keep a positive approach in life."
Commenting on the alarming suicide rate in the coaching hub, Khachariyawas, who is the state Minister of Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, told news agency ANI, "The youth nowadays is suffering from depression. Earlier, people used to live with families. They used to talk to and seek guidance from their families. I appeal to the students to leave bad company and keep a positive approach in life."
Over two lakh students move to Kota annually to prepare for competitive exams such as the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) for engineering and the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for admission to medical colleges.
According to authorities, 22 students preparing for competitive exams in the district have ended their lives so far in 2023 -- the highest for any year. Last year, the figure was 15.
Two students ended their lives on Sunday, in a span of four hours.
Avishkar Shambaji Kasle (17) jumped off the sixth floor of his coaching institute's building in Jawahar Nagar at around 3.15 pm, minutes after walking out of a room after taking a mock NEET test, police said.
Adarsh Raj (18), who was also preparing for the competitive exam, hanged himself in his rented flat in the Kunhadi police station area at around 7 pm, they said.
The aspirants were reportedly under pressure after scoring low marks during routine tests conducted by the coaching centres.
Kota district collector O P Bunkar, in an order issued Sunday night, asked the coaching institutes to stop holding routine tests for the next two months.
He said the directions were passed to provide 'mental support' to students.
(With inputs from PTI)