Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday told officials to form a committee that could suggest measures to prevent suicides of students in the city of Kota, PTI reported.
Gehlot issued the directive during a meeting with government officials and representatives of coaching institutes. The meeting was held two weeks after a 17-year-old Class 12 student died by suicide in the city.
This was the 20th such suicide this year in Kota, which is a hub of coaching institutes for those preparing for engineering and medical entrance examinations, as well as for those preparing for civil service examinations.
Gehlot on Friday directed that the committee should have representatives from coaching institutes, as also parents and doctors. The panel should submit its report in 15 days, the chief minister directed.
Gehlot said that Class 9 and Class 10 students being enrolled in coaching institutes face an additional burden, since they also need to appear for board examinations, according to PTI.
“You call students of class 9th and 10th,” he said. “You are committing a crime in a way. It is like as if IIT [Indian Institutes of Technology] is god. As soon as students come to coaching, they are enrolled in fake schools. It is also a fault of the parents.”
Gehlot noted that students need to attend six hours of coaching classes, attend extra classes and appear for weekly tests. “It is time for improvement,” he said. “We cannot see young students committing suicide.”
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