SUICIDES IN IIT's & IIT JEE COACHING SCHOOLS

Saturday, September 15, 2018

UP: Surendra Das cremated, friends grieve their “commando’s” death - Hindustan Times

UP: Surendra Das cremated, friends grieve their “commando’s” death

Indian Police Services officers from the 2014 batch gathered at the Baikunth Dham in Lucknow to attend the cremation ceremony of their ‘commando’, Surendra Das, 30.

LUCKNOW Updated: Sep 11, 2018 15:09 Ist

HT Correspondent

Hindustan Times, Lucknow

UP director general of police OP Singh paying homage to late IPS officer Surendra Das in Lucknow.(HT Photo)

Indian Police Services officers from the 2014 batch gathered at the Baikunth Dham in Lucknow on Monday to attend the cremation ceremony of their ‘commando’, Surendra Das, 30.

The IPS officer, last posted as superintendent of police (east) of Kanpur, died on Sunday after consuming pesticide in an alleged suicide bid on Wednesday.

WORK STRESS CAN’T BE THE REASON FOR SUICIDE: DGP

Interacting with media persons after Surendra Das’ cremation ceremony at Baikunth Dham on Monday, UP DGP OP Singh said that stress could have been a reason behind the officer’s suicide. “Stress may be a reason but it cannot be work-related, as he had a very short career,” he said.

Remembering Das as a jovial person, Dinesh Gupta, his batchmate posted in Nagaland at present, said, “We gave him that name because of how he handled difficult tasks assigned during our training. He always had a positive attitude towards problem-solving, which motivated all of us.”

Around a dozen batchmates of Das from across the country were present during the cremation.

The deceased officer was given a guard of honour before the DGP and other officials carried his bier to the cremation ground.

“Everyone in our batch loved his nature. It is difficult to accept the news of his death -- that too in this manner,” said Prabhat Kumar, another 2014 batch officer who was Das’ ‘buddy’ during their training days.

UP director general of police (DGP) OP Singh, additional director general (ADG) Rajeev Krishna, other senior officials from the police fraternity, and Das’ friends and relatives were also present to pay homage to the departed soul.

The deceased officer was given a guard of honour before the DGP and other officials carried his bier to the cremation ground. His elder brother, Narendra Das, lit the pyre and performed the last rites.

“We have lost a very bright officer of our force. The police department is with the family in this difficult time,” said the DGP.

Das was admitted to a private hospital after allegedly attempting suicide by ingesting a lethal amount of celphos --an agricultural pesticide -- at his official residence. His wife Raveena Yadav was with him when he took the extreme step.

A visibly shocked Raveena was also present at the cremation ground with other women of the family.

Although Das did not accuse anyone in the letter he left behind, his family has blamed Raveena for abetting his suicide. A doctor by profession, Raveena married Das in April 2017. The couple reportedly had a troubled relationship. However, Das’ father-in-law Ramendra Singh has refuted the claims of differences between the couple. “They loved each other and were very happy together,” he told media persons after the cremation.

A visibly shocked Raveena was also present at the cremation ground with other women of the family.

Before joining the police services, Das worked at a public sector enterprise after completing his graduation from IIT Kharagpur.

The youngest of seven siblings born to an Armyman, Das completed his basic education from his home town, Ballia.

Relatives, especially youngsters, from Das’ home town said they greatly admired him. “He was a role model for everyone. He always motivated us to do better in life,” said Dinesh Kumar, a 23-year-old from Ballia who attended the cremation.

India accounted for 37 per cent of global suicide deaths among women, 24 per cent among men in 2016 - New Indian Express

India accounted for 37 per cent of global suicide deaths among women, 24 per cent among men in 2016: Study

Suicide ranked first in India as the cause of death compared to its third rank globally in this age group, it said.

Published: 12th September 2018 06:42 PM |

Image for representational purpose only. (File | EPS)

By PTI

NEW DELHI: India accounted for 37 per cent of global suicide deaths among women and 24 per cent among men in 2016, according to a study published Wednesday.

The Global Burden of Disease Study 1990-2016 published in the Lancet Public Health journal said 63 per cent of all suicide deaths reported in India were in the 15-39 age group.

Suicide ranked first in India as the cause of death compared to its third rank globally in this age group, it said.

ALSO READ: IIT-Guwahati student from Karnataka commits suicide

There was an increase of 40 per cent in the number of suicide deaths between 1990 and 2016, with an estimated 2,30,314 deaths in 2016 indicating that "disproportionately high suicide deaths in India are a public health crisis", according to the lead author of the study, Professor Rakhi Dandona from Public Health Foundation of India.

"Having said that, the suicide death rate (SDR) has reduced by 15 per cent from 1990 to 2016," she said.

The study found wide variations in suicide death rate across states in India.

Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal and Tripura had high suicide death rates for both men and women, in addition to Kerala and Chhattisgarh which had high suicide death rates for men.

The suicide death rate for women in India is 15 per one lakh women, double that of the global suicide rate for women in 2016, which is 7 per one lakh women.

Married women account for the high proportion of suicide deaths in India, the study stated.

Marriage is known to be less protective against suicide for women because of arranged and early marriage, young motherhood, low social status, domestic violence, and economic dependence.

"The trends in SDR in women in this study suggest the need to further assess the complex relationships between gender and suicidal behaviour to facilitate women-specific suicide prevention strategies," Dandona said.

At the same time, she stressed the high SDR among men in India has not changed over time and needs immediate attention.

For suicide among men in India, it appears young adults are a vulnerable group, and marriage does not seem to be protective for them either.

Personal and social reasons, financial problems, poor health are known as major reasons of suicide in India and the most-used means of suicide are poisoning, drug overdose and hanging, as known from previous research, Dandona said.

The study found that the suicide death rate is increasing in the elderly, especially among those above the age of 80 years, which will pose additional challenges.

For the elderly, social isolation, depression, functional disability, and the feeling of being a burden on their family have been cited as reasons for suicides globally, however, not much is known about reasons for suicides in the elderly in India, Dandona said.

With their increasing proportion in the population, the reasons for suicide and mental health issues in the elderly need to be explored urgently within the National Programme for Health Care of the Elderly in India to address the increasing suicide deaths in this age group, Dandona stated.

There is an urgent need for a national suicide prevention strategy, that is data-driven, gender-specific and takes the state variations into account.

Fed Up With Engineering, IIT Guwahati Student Commits Suicide In Hostel - India Times

Fed Up With Engineering, IIT Guwahati Student Commits Suicide In Hostel

Indiatimes Updated: September 13, 2018

The family and peer pressure to become an engineer seems to have taken yet another life. An 18-year-old IIT Guwahati was found dead in her hostel room on Wednesday.

Nagashree SC, a first-year mechanical engineering student, who is originally from Hosanagara near Shimoga in Karnataka was found hanging from the ceiling fan of her Dhansiri hostel room.

IIT G officials said Nagashree had joined the institute only in July. On Wednesday she stayed back in the hostel telling her roommate that she was not feeling well.

"Nagashree's roommate had left to attend classes in the morning. When she returned, she found the door of the room was locked. No one responded. She alerted the institute's security and local police. The security guards broke the door's lock and found her hanged inside," IIT-Guwahati spokesperson Labanu Konwar said.

Pressured by family to join IIT-Guwahati, student from Karnataka commits suicide - New Indian Exporess

Pressured by family to join IIT-Guwahati, student from Karnataka commits suicide

The body of Nagashree SC, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in her room in Dhansiri hostel, said the police.

Published: 12th September 2018 05:03 PM |

By Prasanta Mazumdar

Express News Service

GUWAHATI: An Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (IIT-G) student from Karnataka allegedly killed herself in her hostel room on Wednesday, leaving behind a note that said it was better to die than fail to live up to her relatives’ expectations, the police said.

The body of the first-year B Tech mechanical engineering student, Nagashree SC, was found hanging from a ceiling fan. “She didn’t go to college today (Wednesday), and later, her roommate found the door locked from inside. On being informed by the IIT-G authorities, the police came in, broke open the door and found the body hanging,” IIT-G spokesman Labanu Konwar told TNIE.

The police recovered a piece of paper which reportedly said she wanted to be a teacher and not an engineer. Konwar said Nagashree underwent counselling a few days ago and nothing peculiar was found about her.

In Shivamogga, Nagashree’s grandfather Sridhar Udupa had a different take. “She was a very bold girl and very intelligent too. Before moving to Guwahati, she said she got the same discipline – mechanical engineering – that she was aspiring for,” he said.

This is the fifth incident of suicide by an IIT-G student in the past five years.

18-year-old BTech Student Commits Suicide at IIT-Guwahati - News 18

18-year-old BTech Student Commits Suicide at IIT-Guwahati

Police said Nageshwari SC, who hailed from Karnataka, hanged herself from the ceiling fan of her room.

News18.comUpdated:September 12, 2018, 2:20 PM IST

Guwahati: A first year BTech student committed suicide at IIT Guwahati on Wednesday.

Police said Nageshwari SC, who hailed from Karnataka, hanged herself from the ceiling fan of her room.

“She wrote that it was better to die than fail to live up to the expectation of her parents and family members,” Rana Bhuyan, in-charge of Amingaon police outpost, told The Hindu.

The security guards at Indian Institute of Guwahati spotted her body from outside the window and informed the police.

An IIT-Guwahati spokesperson said Nageshwari told her roommate she was not feeling well and wouldn’t attend class. The roommate informed authorities once she found the door of the room locked after returning from her class.

First Published: September 12, 2018, 2:19 PM IST

IIT-Guwahati student commits suicide, leaves note saying ‘engineering sucks’ - Hindustan Times

IIT-Guwahati student commits suicide, leaves note saying ‘engineering sucks’

The student, who was in her first semester, was discovered hanging from the ceiling fan in her hostel room. She allegedly left a brief suicide note.

INDIA Updated: Sep 13, 2018 18:05 Ist

Sadiq Naqvi

Hindustan Times, Guwahati

The student had joined IIT Guwahati’s mechanical engineering course barely one-and-a-half months ago.

An 18-year-old student of IIT Guwahati allegedly committed suicide on Wednesday as she was unhappy about having to study engineering, police said.

The first-year mechanical engineering student, who belonged to Karnataka, was found hanging from the ceiling fan of her hostel room at the IIT campus on the outskirts of Guwahati.

The police said a brief suicide note written in English was found in the room.

“Engineering sucks,” the student wrote in the suicide note, said Sanjib Saikia, Additional Superintendent of Police, Kamrup, adding, “She seemed to be depressed that she had to pursue engineering. She also wrote about how she could not fulfill the expectations of her parents.”

An IIT spokesperson said, “Her roommate had gone to attend classes. When she returned she found the room locked. She made phone calls which went unanswered. She then informed security.”

IIT security officials got in touch with the local police who broke open the door of the room and found the first semester student hanging from the ceiling fan.

“It has been barely one-and-a-half months since she joined the course,” the IIT spokesperson said adding that she had undergone mandatory counselling session for first-year students recently.

“Nothing abnormal was noticed in the interaction,” the spokesperson claimed.

IIT Guwahati has four counsellors for around 6,000 students, according to the spokesperson.

First Published: Sep 12, 2018 18:17 Ist

IIT-Guwahati student from Karnataka commits suicide - The Hindu

IIT-Guwahati student from Karnataka commits suicide

Rahul Karmakar

GUWAHATI, SEPTEMBER 12, 2018 13:31 IST

Leaves note saying she wanted to be teacher, not engineer

A first year student from Karnataka, pursuing B.Tech course in Mechanical Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati, allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself for a ceiling fan on Wednesday morning.

Police said the student, 18-year-old Nagashree S.C. from Hosanagara near Shivamogga, left a note behind saying she wanted to be a teacher, not an engineer.

“She wrote that it was better to die than fail to live up to the expectation of her parents and family members,” Rana Bhuyan, in-charge of Amingaon police outpost, told The Hindu.

The police from the outpost broke open the door of Nagashree's hostel room about 10:30 am after IIT-G security guards spotted her, from outside the windows, hanging from a ceiling fan. A doctor of the institute declared her dead.

“She told her roommate she was not feeling well and would skip class. Her roommate left but returned after the first class and found the door locked from inside. She informed the security guards, who informed the police at Amingaon,” an IIT-G spokesperson said.

IIT-G is located at Amingaon, about 20 km from the heart of Guwahati across the Brahmaputra.

“We have informed the girl's family, but we are not sure if they would be able to arrive today,” the spokesperson said.

Police said Nagashree's body has been sent for post mortem.

IIT-Guwahati helpline for students in collaboration with Saathi: 8486814024

World Suicide Prevention Day: It’s okay for men to cry - Tribune India

Posted at: Sep 9, 2018, 6:10 PM; last updated: Sep 9, 2018, 6:10 PM (IST)

World Suicide Prevention Day: It’s okay for men to cry

New Delhi, September 9

Following an episode of sexual harassment at school by a senior, a sobbing Vikas Aggarwal, then a boy of 14, expressed his anguish to his parents, only to be thrashed by his father.

Unable to cope with the trauma, he decided to put an end to his misery by jumping into a nearby lake.

“Their son getting assaulted seemed like a matter of shame to my parents. They asked me to forget the incident and move on. When I had no one to talk to, ending my life seemed like the only option,” Vikas told PTI on the eve of World Suicide Prevention Day.

Although he was saved in the nick of time, his assault was never raised with the school authorities. Instead, his parents decided to hush up the matter, and he was moved to a new school.

According to Johnson Thomas, director of Aasra — a Mumbai-based mental health NGO, Indian men grow up in households that teach them to present a “macho” image, that often entails hiding away their vulnerabilities.

“Indian men have been conditioned to hide away their emotions and build up a macho image lest they be considered wimpy and unmanly,” Thomas said.

According to NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) data, a total of 1,33,623 incidents of suicide were reported in 2015, out of which 68 per cent (91,528) were men.

Vyom Sharma, had decided to end his life in 2010, over a failed relationship.

Then a 3rd year engineering student, he sat on the edge of his hostel terrace, ready to jump off, hoping the fall would bring an end to all the “pain”.

“I felt helpless. I did have my friends, but I felt nobody could understand what I was going through, and suicide seemed like the only solution,” Vyom, who was saved by a friend, said.

Factors inducing suicidal thoughts remain almost the same for men and women—stress, distress, and prolonged depression, said Delhi-based psychologist Nimesh Desai.

The director of the Institute of Human Behaviour & Allied Sciences (IHBAS) added that while more number of women attempted to take their own lives, it was the men’s choice of suicidal methods that resulted in higher incidents of male deaths.

The number (of suicide deaths) is higher for men because of their modes of attempt. The means women choose—consuming medicines, slashing wrists—are not immediately likely to succeed, and the chances of being rescued are much more,” Desai said.

Men, he said, resorted to methods like guns, or jumping on railway tracks, which were most likely to be fatal.

Empathising with the victims, supporting them emotionally and psychologically, and most importantly, encouraging a “gender neutral emotional expression”, was the way forward, both Thomas and Desai agreed.

“Young boys and girls must be trained to not hesitate and have false pride in expressing distress. And whenever you see someone disturbed, never make fun and never challenge. Instead, offer help in a supportive manner,” Desai said.

Eight years on, Vyom is now pursuing his dream of “understanding and teaching about language” as a PhD student of linguistics at IIT Delhi.

Although, he had recurring suicidal thoughts in the years that followed the attempt, but conscious efforts to get over the problems and a circle of supportive family and friends helped him cope with his bouts of depression. —PTI

IIT-B student’s death: 27 empty tablet strips found in hotel room - Mumbai Mirror

IIT-B student’s death: 27 empty tablet strips found in hotel room

By Asif Rizvi, Mumbai Mirror

Updated: Sep 5, 2018, 05:29 IST

A day after the decomposed body of an M-Tech student who studied IIT Bombay was found in a hotel room he had booked online, the Amboli police have learned that as many as 27 empty strips of tablets suspected to be antidepressants were retrieved from the room where Jaideep Swain checked in on August 31.

Senior Police Inspector of Amboli Police station, Bharat Gaikwad, said, “The body of the deceased was on Tuesday handed over to his family members.”

The police said the family was unaware about him being suicidal, and he used to speak to them almost each day.

He had shifted to Mumbai about a month ago and was living in a hostel on the IIT-B campus.

Jaideep had a couple of friends in IIT, and two of them had even visited the hotel on Monday after learning about his death. They told police they were unaware of any problems he was facing.

The police suspect Jaideep overdosed on the tablets, which could have led to his death, since the body had turned blue and bloated. “The final postmortem reports are still awaited,” a police officer said.

IIT-B student’s body found in hotel, suicide suspected - The Asian Age

IIT-B student’s body found in hotel, suicide suspected

THE ASIAN AGE.

Published : Sep 4, 2018, 2:09 am IST

Officials are now probing into the incident to ascertain the reason.

Mumbai: The decomposed body of an IIT-Mumbai student (23) — who allegedly committed suicide in a hotel room at Amboli over unknown reasons – was found on Monday.

The police said that the deceased was suffering from depression as they have found related medication from the hotel room. The student hails from Chattisgarh and used to stay alone in Mumbai.

The deceased, identified as Jaideep Swain, stayed at the IIT-Mumbai hostel in Powai. His body was found in a decomposed state on Monday after the hotel staff experienced a foul smell emanating from his room and sensed something was amiss.

When the room was opened, Swain was found hanging inside it. The Amboli police was informed which reached the spot and the body was sent to a public hospital for conducting an autopsy.

“We have not found any suicide note in the deceased’s possession. When his room was checked, medicine prescribed for depression was found. There is no clarity on the motive for his extreme step. He had checked into the hotel on Friday,” said Bharat Gaikwad, senior inspector of Amboli police station. Citing the condition of Swain’s body, the police suspect that he ended his life the same day he checked into the room. Preliminary probe has revealed that his family is based in Chattisgarh and they have been informed about the tragic incident.

Officials are now probing into the incident to ascertain the reason. The investigators will record the statements of Swain’s friends and family to get clarity on the incident.

A case of accidental death has been registered by the Amboli police station and further investigation is underway. The deceased, a first-year student was doing his Masters in Technology at IIT-Bombay.

According to N.S. Dabholkar, chief manager hospitality and PRO, IIT-Bombay, he stayed at Hostel no. 1 of the campus, did not leave any note or evidence of his death at his room.

Tags: iit-bombay, committed suicide

IIT Bombay student found dead in hotel, police suspect suicide - India Today

IIT Bombay student found dead in hotel, police suspect suicide

Saurabh Vaktania
Mumbai
September 4, 2018
UPDATED: September 4, 2018 10:28 IST
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EMAIL AUTHOR

The 22-year-old is originally from Chattisgarh and moved to Mumbai in July
Police found depression near the dead body
No suicide note was found

Jagdish Sawain was studying mechanical engineering in IIT Bombay.

On Monday, the dead body of a 22-year-old IIT Bombay student was found from a hotel in Jogeshwari, Mumbai.

Jagdish Sawain was a mechanical engineering student in IIT Bombay. He was originally from Chattisgarh and had come to Mumbai in July.

The police did not recover any suicide note from the scene and are waiting for the post-mortem report. According to police officials, on August 31, Jagdish checked in to Treebo hotel in Jogeshwari West area. On Saturday morning, he ordered breakfast; this was the last room service he ordered.

On Monday, the hotel staff complained of a foul smell coming out from Jagdish's room. The hotel staff opened the room with the help of a duplicate key and found Jagdish lying dead. The hotel staff instantly informed the Amboli police station. Depression tablets and bottle were found lying near Jagdish's body in the hotel room. The dead body was sent for post-mortem.

A police officer said, "We are awaiting for family members of Jagdish to come. We suspect it to be a case of suicide due to unknown reasons. No suicide note was found. But we found depression medicines. We will take statements of his friends and people known in Mumbai. Further investigations are on in the matter."

Rajasthan's Kota: The killer coaching hub - Indian Express

Rajasthan's Kota: The killer coaching hub

Kota’s fame as India’s ‘coaching capital’ is also the reason for its notoriety as a ‘suicide city’ and the measures taken to bring down the stress and competition have been inadequate.

Published: 02nd September 2018 09:31 AM | Last Updated: 02nd September 2018 09:31 AM

|By Rajesh Asnani

Kota’s fame as India’s ‘coaching capital’ is also the reason for its notoriety as a ‘suicide city’ and the measures taken by administration and institutes to bring down the insane stress of competition, which proves too much to handle for many teenaged students, have been inadequate, finds Rajesh Asnani

On August 5, 15-year-old Devesh Kumar from Nalanda, Bihar, hanged himself in his hostel room in Kota. A suicide note found in the room read, “Before coming to Kota, I did not know that preparing for IIT-JEE would be so tough.” The JEE aspirant had scored only 20-40 per cent marks in the internal tests at his coaching institute, which drove him to end his life. On August 7, 16-year-old Sakshi Maratha from Buldhana in Maharashtra hanged herself from the ceiling fan in her room. She left no suicide note. But she was the 13th student this year to commit suicide in Kota.

The rise in the number of student suicides in Kota this year after a dip in 2017—which saw seven cases—has rattled India’s coaching capital once again. Since 2013, 77 students have committed suicide in the city in Rajasthan, as per the data compiled by the district administration. A spike in the number of suicides in 2015 and 2016 had forced the district administration to introduce remedial measures and last year saw lesser suicides. But the measures have obviously failed to have a lasting impact for lack of sincere implementation.

The administration had taken steps which included issuing guidelines to the institutes to give weekly off to students, fees refunds, facilitating recreational activities etc. Former district collector Ravi Kumar Surpur had taken a personal interest in the issue and made sure that screening of students is done prior to admissions.

But these are just guidelines and there is no regular monitoring to ensure strict compliance. “We have appointed counsellors and mentors, set up indoor games and started yoga classes on alternate days, as per the guidelines. But it’s not mandatory and we can’t force the students to attend,” concedes Pramod Mewara of Allen Institute, the leading coaching institute in Kota. Thousands of students come to Kota every year with a dream to gain entrance to the prestigious IITs and medical colleges. But for many, the pressure of intense studies is overwhelming. Teenagers who have hardly been away from home before this have to live on their own, cramming 14-16 hours a day in the hope of a secure future. The grueling daily schedule, the rigorous cycle of internal tests at the institutes, the intense competition and the “insane” pressure to succeed proves too much for many youngsters to handle — especially in the absence of continuous emotional support from parents.

Unfortunately, neither the parents nor the coaching institutes are sensitive to the emotional cost of chasing the medical or engineering dream. Kota once used to be an industrial town. But in the early nineties, the industries started shutting down. V K Bansal, who was an employee with the JK Industries then, started teaching mathematics to IIT aspirants in 1987-88. IIT-Delhi graduate Pramod Maheshwari started teaching physics. The two men, with their innovative style of teaching, made 49 students from Kota clear IIT entrance in 1995. That put the city on the map as a top choice for IIT and medical coaching.

And within a few years, ‘coaching’ became the biggest industry here. Today, there are about 40 big and small institutes in the city catering to nearly 1.5 lakh engineering and medical aspirants.

With over 10 lakh students from all over the country appearing for JEE Mains to secure about 11,000 seats in 23 IITs, the competition is fierce. The deep-rooted bias in India for engineering and medical professions makes ambitious parents bring their children here so that they can make it to the IITs or medical colleges.

The coaching institutes are taking full advantage of this mad race to make a killing. Maheshwari, the owner of Career Point, says this was not the case initially. “Both of us (he and Bansal) started teaching and our students were common; we used to have a healthy atmosphere. That was a different Kota... at that time, the focus was on education, students and ethics,” he says.

The competition among the coaching centres is as intense as among the students, with each of them vying to attract the best and brightest students and to ensure that maximum students of their students qualify for IIT-JEE and NEET with top scores. In their bid to outdo each other, they offer up to 100 per cent scholarships to the top scorers in their screening tests — which means, their coaching is free of cost. The main aim of every institute is to admit maximum students as it means more profits. But at the same time, there is a thrust on churning out toppers and therefore, the institutes focus on only those students who are already bright and have the aptitude for engineering or medical studies.

From the rest of the students, they charge hefty tuition fees — `1,00,000 per year, on an average. There is also a competition to hire the best faculty and the institutes pay anything between `20 lakh and `1 crore per year to the teachers, many of them IITians. Poaching of bright students from other institutes is common because “for aspirants and their parents, the main criterion for taking admission is the number of toppers selected from an institute” says Nidhi Gupta, who is doing her PhD on Kota suicides.

The coaching centres’ obsessive focus on potential toppers, as also their strategy to segregate the students in batches according to their capability, has a damaging impact on rest of the students, who start feeling they are incapable. Less marks in internal tests lower their self-esteem. Many students come to Kota because of parental pressure. Apart from the stress of studies, the students also face the pressure of ‘return on investment’. Parents spend Rs 2.5-3 lakh per year on their tuition fees, stay, food etc. and a feeling of being unable to pay expected returns drives many teens to despair.

Psychologist Dr M L Agarwal, who was instrumental in starting a helpline service for students, blames parents. “Forcing them to prepare for IIT or NEET against their desire will only push the children to the edge,” he says. Dr B S Shekhawat, a psychiatrist at Government Medical College, says the counsellors hired by the institutes are often untrained. “They are giving so much money to the faculty. Why can’t they appoint professional counsellors and psychiatrist who can screen students at the time of admission and keep a tab on the emotionally vulnerable ones?” he asks.

Kriti Tripathi from Ghaziabad, who committed suicide last year despite scoring well in internal tests, advised her younger sister, in her suicide note, “Only what you love brings happiness and that is the only thing you can excel in.” It’s time parents and the coaching industry realised this.

Reasons for suicides
As they find themselves all alone in a city without any emotional or moral support from parents, students — many of whom have moved away from home for the first time — find it difficult to cope with the stress of studies and competition.

According to experts, when students arrive in Kota for coaching, they suddenly find themselves amid unknown people. With each one of them competing with lakhs of others, it’s difficult for the students to strike a close bond of friendship.

The coaching institutes organise periodic tests, generally once every three weeks. The results are communicated to parents via messages and letters. A lot of student can’t face the embarrassment of bad results. Students who got high percentages in school start scoring poor marks in review tests. They don’t know how to explain this to parents.

Test performance decides the batch a student is assigned. When the rank of a student slips, he or she is put to ‘lower’ batches, which hurts his or her self-esteem.

Parental expectations are often responsible for driving children to end their lives.

Sometimes, issues like love affair, alcohol/drug addiction etc. are also responsible.

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32,634 families registered as 'Ayushman Bharat' beneficiaries in J and K's Udhampur

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