Are people from small towns in places like Bihar, sending their kids to ‘suicide city? Puzzled? Read on

The town of Kota in northern Rajasthan state is ‘famous’ its numerous study centre that coach students prepare for India’s extremely competitive admission exams for medical and engineering colleges. But Kota produces high stress levels and  has an alarming rate of suicide among students, says a BBC report.

A 17-year old  killed herself by jumping from the fifth floor of her residential building on 28 April “They suck,” she wrote suicide note, talking about the study centres in Kota.

In the five-page suicide note, she urged the government of India to shut down Kota’s  coaching classes as soon as possible.

Revealing the details of her letter, senior police officer Harish Bharati said the “girl had in fact cleared the initial entrance test and was eligible for admission in an engineering college. But she took the extreme step because she did not want to become an engineer. She was facing unbearable stress because of coaching classes.”

Saurav Kumar, 19,  faced a daily battle against thoughts of killing himself. Once a topper  in school, he wrestled with acute stress and felt pushed to the brink in a study centre in Kota. Saurav Kumar tried to kill himself due to extreme stress. Hoping to get into a top college, he travelled more than 850km from Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh state to a study centre in Kota.

But he said he struggled to handle his parents’ high expectations. ‘

“My parents thought I was doing very well and getting top marks in the study centre. But I just couldn’t handle the pressure. Looking at all my peers, I felt depressed. I worried about about my future and I thought ending my life was the only option,” he said.

Mr Kumar was lucky to be rescued and received treatment at the right time when he tried to kill himself. But many others were not.

According to police data, 73 students – including five this year – have taken their lives in Kota in the past five years.

But authorities have now taken measures to check the rising number of suicides. A 24-hour helpline called Hope has been set up for students. ML Agarwal, a psychiatrist who manages the helpline, said “gruelling work schedules and frequent tests drive many to seek help”.

Counsellors say they get more frantic calls in the night when students are unable to sleep because of stress.

A 17-year-old girl from the nearby village of Bhunas. As her exams approached, she became withdrawn and lost appetite. Her parents found a suicide note in her notebook and brought her to Dr Agarwal’s hospital. She was diagnosed with acute depression and put on a suicide watch.

Her grandfather said he hoped that the doctor would treat her quickly and she would not miss her exams. Dr Agarwal said that very often the parents need counselling. He said he often tells parents to back off and have more realistic expectations from their children.

“We often get panic calls from students who are at the banks of the river Chambal, wanting to jump in. Some students also call from their rooms and say they are about to kill themselves. When we get such calls, a team of counsellors rushes to the spot while someone keeps them engaged on the phone,” he explained.

Prepared by newsnet intern Debashish Roy from internet sources]

  education, Kota, Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, suicide