Another 16-year-old NEET applicant commits himself in Kota, bringing the total this year to the highest amount

In Kota, Rajasthan, a 16-year-old student who was studying for the National Eligibility Completion Entrance Test (NEET) committed herself by hanging herself.

In Kota, a center for coaching in Rajasthan, 25 students have died by suicide in only eight months of this year.

The student, a Ranchi native, was now staying at the city’s Blaze Hostel. Her corpse was stored at the morgue after she hung herself.

Nearly two lakh students visit Kota each year in an effort to do well on competitive tests like the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) and the National Eligibility-cumulative Entrance Test (NEET).

The stress of the competitive examinations was blamed for the highest number of student suicides ever this year—25—according to the authorities.

According to statistics from the Rajasthan police, the number was 15 in 2022, 18 in 2019, 20 in 2018, seven in 2017, 17 in 2016, and 18 in 2015. In 2020 and 2021, there were no reports of student suicide in Kota since the coaching institutes were shut down because to the Covid-19 epidemic.

In reaction to a string of suicides in Kota, the district government had earlier issued an order ordering the installation of spring-loaded fans in every hostel room and paying guest housing.

Om Prakash Bunkar, the district collector for Kota, said he issued the order in an effort to “provide mental support and security to the students studying and living in these accommodations, and to prevent suicides from increasing among coaching students.”

The Rajasthan High Court has since requested recommendations on how to stop student suicides at coaching centers throughout the state, particularly in Kota. The Rajasthani government has mandated that coaching facilities avoid administering exams for the next two months as one of many preventative measures. Bhawani Singh Detha’s committee requested that coaching facilities plan enjoyable events and provide inspirational material on their internet portals for pupils at its inaugural meeting.