In a heart-breaking development, an 18-year-old student in Kota preparing for IIT JEE died by suicide after penning a note for her family. Rajasthan's Kota which is said to be the 'Coaching Capital of India' is turning out to be the 'suicide capital' of India as many students have taken their own lives in the past few years, especially in 2023. As per reports, the 18-year-old JEE aspirant wrote a suicide note and took the extreme step telling her parents via the letter that she is unable to do the JEE. She took the extreme step two days before her examination. Nota, the Kota JEE student's suicide note is going viral on social media and it is indeed heartbreaking.
In her suicide note, the teen student wrote, "Mummy and Papa, I can't do JEE. So, I am committing suicide. I am a loser. I am the reason. I am the worst daughter. Sorry, Mummy and Papa. This is the last option." The teenager who was preparing for JEE Mains, hanged herself in the room of her house in the Shiksha Nagri area of Kota. Her examination was scheduled to be held on January 31.
Notably, reports suggest that this is the second suicide in Kota in nearly a week. On January 23, a student from Uttar Pradesh, who was preparing for NEET through private coaching in Kota, died by suicide. The student from Moradabad was aged 17 or 18. He was living in a hostel and enrolled in NEET coaching in Kota, was found hanging in his room. No suicide note was found.
Kota turning to be 'suicide capital' of India
In a disturbing figure, Rajasthan's Kota which is known for its coaching institutes for engineering and medical entrance examinations, saw 29 student suicides in 2023. Authorities are urgently trying to tackle the mental health issues faced by students in the high-pressure academic environment of coaching centers.
In September last year, when the Gehlot government was in power, Cabinet minister Shanti Dhariwal had claimed that cases among students are happening due to 'affairs' and 'parental pressure'. Dhariwal was quoted saying, "There is a need to investigate each and every case. In the case of the girl from Jharkhand who died today (in September 2023), it was found out that she had an affair due to which she died. She has left a letter."
Dhariwal had further said, "There is a need to go into why students die by suicide. There have been cases where students have committed suicide due to affairs. A boy comes from Bihar and finds out he does not have as much caliber to perform as other students who stay with him do. He could also die by suicide due to peer pressure."