Trigger Warning: Mentions Students Suicide
Kota, a city in the state of Rajasthan is known for the students and coaching institutes today. Many students come to the city with big aspirations and enormous dreams. However, the city is slowly becoming the suicide capital in the world. With death of more than a hundred students in the last decade due to suicide in the city, it has forced the Kota administration to assess the mental health of students and take proper measures to prevent the surging number of suicides.
How did the city become the hub of coaching institutes?
This trend started with the setup of Bansal classes in 1983 by Mr V.K. Bansal with a few students. In 1991,some of his students ended up clearing the JEE exam. This led to flourishment of gigantic coaching places like Allen ,Aakash, PW etc. from the 2000s to 2010s and rising obsession of people with IIT and NEET examinations and the IITian-tag and IIMian-tag.
The situation in the city today:
Today , many so-called coaching gurus have replaced the great teachers and there are several ad-hoardings being setup with institutes boasting of providing the pathway to crack the exams through them. Even today, there is no aptitude test done of the students by the institutes to check whether they are suited for the field or not. There are very less certified counsellors employed by the teaching shops and most of the counsellors who are non-certified also play a role in the suicide of students.
The pressure enforced by institutes, stiff competition, parental pressure and societal expectations are the factors that can leave a deep long-lasting effect on the children. Due to inability to withstand the pressure and not able to study with the aptitude required for such type of exams ,the students end up committing suicide with the notes saying that they wished that parents could understand more and them being allowed to pursue their dreams and not being put into the "pressure cooker" atmosphere as an investment for the education .
It is an alarming situation and we all as teachers ,parents and citizens of the country must come together and take up measures to prevent suicides and help students with the education, career choices and most importantly, their physical and mental health.
What are the solutions and measures that can be taking up?
The answer to this question is subjective in nature and there are many measures which can be taken up for the same. Here are some of them as followed:
1.The education system needs a complete overhaul with several norms being changed and creativity being kept at first priority.
2.Students need to be taught about fields other than the sciences (JEE or NEET exam) and that life is not ending if one is unable to crack the competitive exams.
3.Parents need to be made aware of the career options by the counselor and must allow their children to pursue their interests and passion without any influence from society or any person.
4.Institutes must do an aptitude test of students who are coming to them before the start of the exam course and start creating a student-friendly atmosphere. Certified counselors must be appointed at the schools and institutions.
5.We should start thinking about the welfare of the students and create communities where discussions and solutions can be brought up for reform of the education system.
6.Movies like “3 idiots” and poems like "The Road Not Taken" must be shown and read to students to encourage thinking, creativity and passion among them.
Conclusion:
Youth are an important and valuable asset of the country and they can contribute to the country by being in different career fields. They must be allowed to pursue their career of choice and will and this is the way through which suicides can be prevented and health of the students be maintained.
“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” —Martin Luther King Jr.
“Passion is so key in leading and creating excellence that I will hire passion over education and talent every time.” -Dave Ramsey