Jaipur:

Kota, the coaching capital of the country which has been making headlines for student suicides, now has another big problem to contend with – students getting hooked to drugs.

Experts say the same academic pressure and loneliness – with most engineering and medical aspirants, only in their late teens, being away from their families for the first time – that is driving students to suicide is also leading them to the path of addiction.

Officials said a recent drive by the police has led to the arrest of over 100 drug peddlers and their bosses, blowing the lid off what appears to be a much larger network.

Kota Superintendent of Police (SP) Amrita Duhan said a total of 124 people were arrested for allegedly luring students and other young people in the city to drugs and delivering the contraband to them.

“We made the arrests after identifying those who smuggle drugs or deliver contraband to students studying at various coaching centres. The arrests were made as part of a crackdown on the drug mafia under ‘Operation Vajra Prahar’,” she said.

Police said smack (heroin), charas and ganja (marijuana) are the drugs that are in the widest circulation.

‘High Expectations’

Lakhs of aspirants move to Kota annually to prepare for competitive exams such as the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) for admission to engineering colleges and the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for medical courses.

However, some students find the grind stressful amid homesickness, packed schedules, cut-throat competition and a constant pressure from parents and faculty to perform better.

“Parents always tend to have expectations. This tends to build a lot of pressure on us. They always want to know about our performance and marks. I feel afraid, thinking what will happen if I do not meet their expectations,” Rahul (name changed), one of the students who fell prey to substance abuse, said.

Gautam (name changed), another student, said: “My friends told me to give it (drugs) a try. I took it, but snorted it and did not inject.”

Last year, Kota recorded an alarming 27 student suicides – its highest ever – up from 15 the previous year. This led to both the state and Union governments announcing a slew of measures, including restricting the admission of children below 16 years of age to coaching centres in the city.

With 14 student suicides being recorded this year so far, police are also investigating if any of the students had fallen prey to substance abuse.

(With inputs from Sushant Pareek in Kota, and Shakir Ali and Somu Anand in Jaipur)

Kota:

In Rajasthan’s Kota — India’s coaching district for aspiring engineers and doctors — two suicides within four hours on Sunday took the tally this year to 23, the highest ever recorded.

Avishkar Shambaji Kasle, 17, from Maharashtra and Adarsh Raj, 18, from Bihar both died in two separate incidents in the city on Sunday. The former jumped from the sixth floor of his coaching institute’s building while the latter hanged himself at his rented apartment.

In 2023, there have already been 23 suicides, compared to 15 in 2022. December 2022 was the deadliest month, with three suicides in a single day. Data shows that the number of suicides has increased by 60% since the COVID-19 pandemic. However, that jump in deaths is due to the fact that the number of students in Kota declined in 2019 and 2020 during the Covid pandemic.

In 2017, 10 students ended their lives in the city compared to 12 in 2018 and nine in 2021.

Speaking to NDTV, Dr Bharat Singh Shekhawat, head of the psychiatry department at Kota Medical College, said that there needs to be a comprehensive change in the approach of both the coaching institutes and the parents to curb the alarming rate of student deaths.

“The number of suicides by students in Kota is the highest this year. We have been presenting suggestions to the Rajasthan government for 20 years, but no action has been taken,” Dr Shekhawat told NDTV.

“During the COVID-19 lockdown, there was no pressure on students as they had the support of their families and were at home. However, after the lockdown, the pressure has returned, and that umbrella support has gone.

“Students who are admitted to coaching institutes at the age of 15 or 16 are too young. They miss out on the benefits of school, such as extracurricular activities and friendships. They are also under a lot of stress due to the rigorous coaching schedule.”

Dr Shekhawat suggested a minimum age for admission at Kota’s coaching institutes so that the students are not thrown into the rigours of academia before they have matured.

“Coaching institutes should also regulate the coaching industry and ensure that the institutes provide a healthy and supportive environment for students,” he said.

Every year, over 2 lakh students move to Kota to prepare for competitive exams such as the JEE and NEET. Following the recent surge in student suicides, authorities have asked coaching institutes to suspend routine tests for the next two months.

In an effort to combat the increasing number of suicides, spring-loaded fans were installed in all hostels and paying guest (PG) accommodations in Kota. “Anti-suicide nets” are also being installed in balconies and lobbies of hostels so that students cannot jump to their deaths.

Hostel owners have said that the exercise to install nets and spring-loaded fans is being carried out with the aim of making their premises “suicide-proof”.

“We have installed huge nets in all lobbies and balconies to block students in case they jump from higher floors. These nets can hold weight up to 150 kg and also ensure that students do not get injured,” said a hostel owner, as quoted by news agency PTI.

Authorities have also passed directions to provide mental health support to students.