In the latest addition to the disturbing series of student suicides in Rajasthan's Kota, an IIT aspirant was found dead in his hostel room this morning. This is the fourth student suicide this year despite concerted efforts to check such incidents in the education hub, where students from across the country come to prepare for competitive exams.
Shubh Choudhary, a resident of Jharkhand, had been preparing for JEE-Mains, the exam required to get admission to top engineering colleges of the country, including the premier IITs. He was in Kota for the past two years. When the JEE Mains results were declared yesterday, Shubh found his score was lower than he had expected. He returned to his hostel room. His body was found hanging from the ceiling this morning.
Police are searching his room for a suicide note or any other clue. The youngster's family has been informed and an autopsy will be conducted once they reach Kota.
In a separate incident, a student has been missing from near Kota since Sunday. Police have launched a search, and the state disaster response force has also been pressed into action. Motorboats are being used to search the Chambal river.
The Kota administration is struggling to check student suicides in the education hub, chiefly due to stress over cracking IIT-JEE and other competitive exams. Guidelines have been issued for coaching centres to help the students manage stress better, but the suicides continue. Last year, the education hub reported as many as 26 student suicides.