Anand Kumar, mathematician and founder of Super 30 coaching centre, has said he is "shaken" by two suicides on Sunday in Rajasthan's Kota, India's coaching district for aspiring engineers and doctors. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Mr Kumar made an appeal to coaching centres to consider the students "as your children" and pay attention to all of them. He also told students that one test is not the measure of their talent. Nearly two dozen students have died by suicide this year in Kota, the highest ever recorded.
"The news of suicide of two children in Kota within just four hours has shaken me. I appeal to all the coaching operators that you should not make education only a source of income and pay attention to all the children considering them as your children," Mr Kumar said on social media.
आज फिर से सिर्फ 4 घंटे के अंदर कोटा में 2 बच्चों के आत्महत्या की खबर ने मुझे हिलाकर रख दिया है | मैं तमाम कोचिंग संचालकों से यह अपील करता हूँ कि आप शिक्षा को सिर्फ आमदनी का जरिया नहीं बनाये और सभी बच्चों को अपना बच्चा समझकर उनपर ध्यान दें | और मैं विद्यार्थियों को समझाना चाहूँगा… pic.twitter.com/xV1w0Rva7B
— Anand Kumar (@teacheranand) August 28, 2023
"And I would like to explain to the students that any one test cannot define your talent. There is not one but many ways to be successful in life. At the same time, parents should not expect their children to fulfill their unfulfilled dreams," he added.
One of the students who died, 17-year-old Avishkar Shubhangi, was preparing for NEET, the common medical entrance exam. He was from Maharashtra.
The second boy named Adarsh Raj was from Bihar. Both died in two separate incidents on August 27.
While Avishkar jumped from the sixth floor of his coaching institute's building, Adarsh hanged himself at his rented apartment.
In 2023, there have already been 23 suicides, compared to 15 in 2022. December 2022 was the deadliest month, with three suicides in a single day.
Data shows that the number of suicides has increased by 60 per cent since the COVID-19 pandemic.
