2 NEET Aspirants Commit Suicide On Same Day At Kota Coaching Centres; 15 Deaths This Year

Kota: A 17-year-old student was found dead at a rented accommodation here on Tuesday night, just hours after another student was suspected to have committed suicide.

According to police, the student from Uttar Pradesh had arrived in Kota a month back and was preparing for NEET, the all-India entrance exam for medical colleges.

A house help found the teenager’s body when he went to serve him dinner.

Fifteen students have died by suicide this year so far in Kota, a coaching hub in Rajasthan for students seeking admission to engineering and medical colleges. In June alone, the number of suicides has gone up to 4.

In 2022, 15 students had taken their lives in the middle of their preparation.

Local police officer Debasish Bharadwaj said that no note was recovered in the first case on Tuesday, also a NEET aspirant, but one was found in the second.

“The bodies were sent for autopsy… Nobody reported any behavioural changes in them in the last few days. Investigation is underway,” the police officer informed.

Around 2.25 lakh students are estimated to prepare for medical and engineering entrance exams in Kota every year.

The extreme stress of delivering results and peer pressure lead to many resorting to this extreme step.

There has been a definite surge in suicides in the last few years, prompting the Rajasthan government to consider a law which will regulate private educational institutes and ease academic pressure on students, especially those enrolled at coaching centres.

Last week, Rajasthan Police set up a cell for regular interactions with students at coaching centres.

In February, the state’s Home department informed that 52 students died by suicide between 2019 and 2022.