Kota: Coping with stress, performing under pressure and with too much depression around, how do students in Kota overcome all these, yet go ahead? Surely the suicides of students in the coaching hub Kota, Rajasthan would be affecting the psyche of other students especially those who are from other states as they don't even have the support of their family.
Ironically, the very pressure some students buckle under, combined with the tight schedule of classes helps the other children keep their focus and mind away from all the negativity around them, a talk with students in Kota revealed.
The coaching city has witnessed 23 suicides of students this year with an average of three suicides every month and this is the highest number in the last five years.
While the Kota police is still investigating the reasons behind the surge in the number of cases this year, many students unanimously agree that the core factor is pressure of performance which increases manifold in light of these cases.
Narendra Jha, a student from Bihar, couldn't agree more. Narendra, preparing here for the medical entrance exam NEET, agreed that pressure is immense. Students come here burdened already with the pressure of their parents' expectations and the money they are spending on these studies. They have no alternative but to perform well and when they come across such cases of suicides, it makes them more depressed for some time. he said.
The family safety ring
In a way, Abhisar Sharma is lucky as his family rallied around him for support during his testing times. Abhisar who hails from Kota itself, recently got admission in a B.Tech course. Laying stress on the family support, he said outstation students, fending for themselves, find it difficult to cope with the pressure. The mental make-up is so fragile that their spirits shatter when they fail to crack even a test paper. The cases of suicides in between only pushes them closer to the brink especially with no family support system.
Abhisar says, "Most of these suicide cases are of outstation students and that emphasises the importance of family. The pressure of studies is the same on all students but locals get by with the help of the family."
Students also discuss this among themselves, but do not linger over it as the tight schedule does not allow them the luxury to dwell over such disheartening news, said Vaibhav Sharma, a Onestion medical entrance test NEET aspirant. "Yes, it affects the mindset of other students. I think in a way it is good for them to get busy with classes and studies, especially in such situations."
While there are some who say that whatever happens there does not - should not - affect other students as it is not the end of life for them, rather a fresh beginning. A candidate who passed out of Kota and is now pursuing an engineering course down south, said it has almost become a norm there. His, "We would walk down the roads there and see someone lying in a pool of blood on the way and walk around it," might come across as insensitive, but he swears that approach kept him sane during his stay there.
Now among you, now no more!
Horrible scars mar the minds of students living in the hostels where such incidents happened, "It is horrible to see someone who was one of you, hanging from a noose. Though it is very disturbing, ultimately you have to get back to your life and concentrate on your goal," a student living in a hostel where a suicide took place a few months ago, said on the condition of anonymity.
The administration and the police of Kota are trying their best to normalise the students. The Additional Superintendent of Police and in-charge of the Students Cell, Chandrasheel Thakur, recently came up with a video message advising the students to carry out a Plan B as well. He said that sometimes plan B works better than plan A and students should not let their hobbies die. He also suggested that students need not study the whole day for their success.
Trying to help in their own way, the student cell is also reaching out to students to talk to them and is carrying out a study to understand the reasons behind the surge of suicides in Kota.
