Kota suicides: Fear of ‘aftermath’, not failure pushes students to end lives, say experts

Kota, December 20

Advertisement

Lakhs of students come to Rajasthan’s coaching hub Kota every year with dreams of getting into some of the country’s most prestigious colleges but many soon find themselves bogged down by hectic routines, peer pressure and the burden of expectations, according to experts.

It’s not the fear of failing an exam but its “aftermath” — insult and humiliation — which pushes them to end their lives, the experts said.

The recent suicides of three students preparing for competitive exams here have triggered a fresh debate over the factors that prompt students to take the extreme step.

Students often find it harder to cope with the emotional stress rather than that of studies, Harish Sharma, principal psychologist at Allen Career Institute here said.

“Academics-related stress among students is not as high as emotional stress. The students are not actually afraid of failing an exam but of its aftermath — insult and humiliation. So they prefer to go into escapist mode,” he said.

The burden of expectations of others clubbed with that of their own expectations is often what demotivates students, Sharma said.

“The parenting style is the same as it was in the 1970s, while the child has a modern brain of 2022 and demands a scientific explanation for whatever he is asked to do. At times, parents make their child do something that he or she may not want to do. The burden of expectations of others as well as their own demotivates children,” he said.

Back-to-back lectures, test series, a constant race to outdo one’s peers and trying to keep pace with the curriculum — this is what the average day of a student studying in a Kota coaching centre looks like.

Amid this tight schedule, many students watch web series to catch a breather but often don’t know when to stop, causing them to lag behind in their studies, Sharma said.

“The addiction to web series is severe. Their effect is 4,000 times more than a shot of dopamine (feel-good hormone). Students do not stop watching a web series unless they finish it.

“We often find students suffering from electronic screen syndrome, with swollen and red eyes,” he said.

At least 14 students studying in coaching centres here have committed suicide this year.

Chandra Shekhar Sushil, Head of Department of Psychiatry, New Medical College Hospital here said, “Taking an aptitude test before sending students to Kota is very important. Some parents forcibly send their children here because they want their children to become doctors or engineers and do not consider the fact whether they are even capable of doing it or not,” he said.