Only 3% of Kota’s students have visited a mental health professional | Data Premium

In India, 8% of total suicides in 2021 were students, largely due to academic pressure. In Kota, a major coaching hub, 25 students have already taken their lives this year. 7% of those currently studying in Kota have considered ending their life. Many students feel that clearing NEET/JEE exams is crucial for a better life, leading to anxieties. Parents, finances and peers also contribute to stress. 46% of students in Kota feel stressed from time to time, while 53% experience loneliness. To cope, students talk to family/friends, watch videos/TV, take a stroll, exercise, meditate, sleep or use sleep-medication. 29% feel their mental health has worsened in Kota, with girls more affected. Only 3% have visited a mental health professional. Counselling is needed to help students in distress.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, the share of students who died by suicide in India in 2021 was 8% of the total number of deaths by suicide. While a number of reasons push students towards this extreme step, one major reason is academic pressure.

Table 1 | During your stay in Kota, have you ever thought of hurting yourself or ending your life?

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It is relevant to record that 25 students have already taken their lives this year in Kota, one of India’s largest coaching hubs, which prepares students for the NEET and JEE exams. This is the highest number of student suicides that the town in Rajasthan has seen. What is also deeply concerning is that among those who are currently studying in Kota, 7% have considered ending their life at least once (Table 1). This was one of the findings of a study conducted recently by Lokniti-CSDS to understand, among other things, the impact of students’ anxieties on their mental health. This is the final data point of the three-part sseries on students in Kota.

According to our findings, many students think that clearing the NEET or JEE exams is crucial for securing a better life. While this belief pushes aspirants to study hard, the possibility of their not clearing these exams does impact their mental health. This is perhaps why close to two in every 10 students studying in Kota often suffer from thoughts linked to the potential consequences of under-performing in exams. Over one-third experience such thoughts sometimes, while two of every 10 said that they do so rarely.

Those around these students also contribute to such anxieties. Nearly one in 10 students experiences parental pressure often while in Kota. Another one-fourth go through this from time to time. The number of girls who experience this pressure is slightly higher than the number of boys. Students with immediate family members who studied in Kota before them also face this pressure more: 9% said that they are often subjected to such pressures and 29% said that they experience it sometimes. Among those who do not have such relatives, 6% often face family pressure and one-fourth face it sometimes.

Finances can be a source of stress too: 6% often feel financial pressure while another one-fourth feel the pressure sometimes. A heightened sense of competition also affects students at times: 4% said that they often experience peer pressure and another two in every 10 said that they experience it from time to time.