By Online Desk
KOTA: With Kota seeing as many as 21 suicides since January 2023 — the most recent being on August 14 — desperate authorities in the country’s competitive exams coaching hub have ordered hostels to install a spring device on ceiling fans to stop students from taking their lives.
There have already been six more suicides in 2023 than in the previous year which saw 15 suicides.
Kota Deputy Commissioner OP Bunkar issued the directions and told all hostel owners to comply or face stern action.
FROM OUR ARCHIVES | Rajasthan’s Kota: The killer coaching hub
The anti-suicide spring device will expand if an object weighing more than 20 kilos is hung from the fan stalling any possible attempt. A siren too will go off.
The Press Trust of India reports that experts are unsure how far a suicide-proof ceiling fan will help stressed students.
ALSO READ | Suicide prevention among adolescents: Why educational institutions must take the lead
This month, the district administration decided that periodic psychological tests will be conducted on students to determine if they are at risk.
Four Kota students have committed suicide this month alone, according to police.
On Tuesday, an 18-year-old IIT-JEE aspirant from Bihar’s Gaya allegedly hanged himself from an iron angle in his PG room.
Last year, after a spurt in suicides, experts contacted by PTI said parents should assess their children’s aptitude through professional help before deciding whether to send them to Kota to prepare for the highly competitive JEE and NEET exams.
ALSO READ | Yoga, zumba classes, mental wellness in focus as student suicides shake Kota
Dr Chandra Shekhar Sushil, who headed the Department of Psychiatry at New Medical College Hospital in Kota, had said instead of pushing children to become doctors and engineers, parents should make them take an aptitude test and then decide what’s best for them.
Most parents send their children for coaching in Kota with almost no preparation and the focus is only on arranging finances and logistics, experts said.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation – 04424640050 (available 24×7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences’ helpline – 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)
KOTA: With Kota seeing as many as 21 suicides since January 2023 — the most recent being on August 14 — desperate authorities in the country’s competitive exams coaching hub have ordered hostels to install a spring device on ceiling fans to stop students from taking their lives.
There have already been six more suicides in 2023 than in the previous year which saw 15 suicides.
Kota Deputy Commissioner OP Bunkar issued the directions and told all hostel owners to comply or face stern action.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2′); });
FROM OUR ARCHIVES | Rajasthan’s Kota: The killer coaching hub
The anti-suicide spring device will expand if an object weighing more than 20 kilos is hung from the fan stalling any possible attempt. A siren too will go off.
The Press Trust of India reports that experts are unsure how far a suicide-proof ceiling fan will help stressed students.
ALSO READ | Suicide prevention among adolescents: Why educational institutions must take the lead
This month, the district administration decided that periodic psychological tests will be conducted on students to determine if they are at risk.
Four Kota students have committed suicide this month alone, according to police.
On Tuesday, an 18-year-old IIT-JEE aspirant from Bihar’s Gaya allegedly hanged himself from an iron angle in his PG room.
Last year, after a spurt in suicides, experts contacted by PTI said parents should assess their children’s aptitude through professional help before deciding whether to send them to Kota to prepare for the highly competitive JEE and NEET exams.
ALSO READ | Yoga, zumba classes, mental wellness in focus as student suicides shake Kota
Dr Chandra Shekhar Sushil, who headed the Department of Psychiatry at New Medical College Hospital in Kota, had said instead of pushing children to become doctors and engineers, parents should make them take an aptitude test and then decide what’s best for them.
Most parents send their children for coaching in Kota with almost no preparation and the focus is only on arranging finances and logistics, experts said.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation – 04424640050 (available 24×7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences’ helpline – 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)
