Rajasthan NEET aspirant dies by suicide in Kota, death toll highest in eight years

livemint.com:

Rajasthan authorities to make premises ‘suicide-proof’ by installing spring-loaded fans in rooms, "anti-suicide nets" in balconies , Rajasthan's Kota witnessed yet another death by suicide on Sunday in a 16-year-old National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) aspirant. Sunday's incident adds to the increasing numbers of deaths of students who study in various institutes of Kota.

The police records suggest that this is the fifth such incident in Kota among students preparing for competitive exams, mostly NEET and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE). At least 20 students who were preparing for competitive exams died by suicide so far in 2023 in Kota, according to a PTI report, as compared to last year's 15.

The report also notes that 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. A Hindustan Times report stated that the teen was from Maharashtra.

He died by suicide at his coaching institute in Vigyan Nagar after appearing for a scheduled weekly test in the afternoon. The student had arrived in the district in 2021 and was staying with his grandparents at a rented house, police said.

Meanwhile, a girl, preparing for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination in Rajasthan's Hanumangarh allegedly died by suicide on Saturday Recently, amid the rising suicide cases among students in Rajasthan's Kota, state Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot formed a committee that would submit a report on students' suicide. Earlier, referring to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data on student suicides, Gehlot said, “According to NCRB, around 13,000 students