A student hailing from Uttar Pradesh died by suicide on Wednesday in Rajasthan's Kota. This is reportedly the 26th case of suicide in the city this year.
Earlier on September 13, another medical aspirant allegedly hanged herself, reported ANI. She had been staying at a hostel at the Electronic Complex in Kota where she was preparing for the all-India medical entrance exam, said an official, adding that she hailed from Ranchi, Jharkhand.
In a similar incident, a 16-year-old student, who was preparing for the NEET for admission to undergraduate medical courses, allegedly died by suicide at his coaching institute in Kota on August 27, police said.
Amid the rising suicide cases among students in Kota, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot recently put together a committee, which was tasked with looking into such cases and filing a report at the earliest.
Meanwhile, in view of the prevailing situation in Kota, wardens and staff members of hostels in Kota will be given professional training in mess management, psychological and behavioural counselling, and other aspects of students' care to equip them to battle the issue among the engineering and medical aspirants in the coaching hub.
Three hostel associations in Kota -- Chambal Hostel Association, Coral Hostel Association and Kota Hostels Association -- have signed an MoU with the Jai Minesh Tribal University here to design special Hostel Management certificate courses for the wardens and staff.
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As the cases witnessed a spike, the Kota administration has taken various measures including mandatory installation of an anti-hanging device in fans and ordering coaching institutes to not take any exam for two months.
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