Sushil Modi urged the government to set up a comprehensive suicide prevention mechanism.
Over 10,000 students under the age of 18 died by suicide in 2021 and 75 students from premier institutes like the IITs, IIMs and AIIMS ended their lives in the past five years, a BJP MP informed the Rajya Sabha today.
Stating that the high number of suicides reflect the severe mental and physical stress that students go through to secure admission in premier universities, BJP MP Sushil Modi also pointed to parental pressure and urged the government to set up a comprehensive suicide prevention mechanism.
Bringing up the issue in a special mention, Mr Modi said, "In 2021, there were 10,732 suicide cases of students below the age of 18 years. This was an increase of 4.5% from the previous year. In the past five years, 75 students died by suicide in IITs, IIMs, AIIMS and other top premier institutions. These cases have been increasing at a concerning rate."
Mr Modi pointed out that the police have reported more than 15 suicides in Kota this year. "The high number of suicides reflect the mental and physical stress students go through... The students face severe academic stress and develop mental health issues because of the intensive competition in the medical and engineering examinations," he said.
The BJP MP said factors like low self-esteem due to poor scores in examinations at the coaching centres, pressures of parental expectations, financial constraints and the stigma around poor performance contribute to the students' "deteriorating mental health".
"The consequences of relentless academic pressure are extremely concerning. I request the government to develop a comprehensive suicide prevention mechanism and implement it in mission mode. The government should take a proactive initiative to enhance mental health support within coaching institutes, schools and universities," Mr Modi said.
On August 4, a 17-year-old JEE aspirant hanged himself in his hostel room in Kota. His was the second case of suspected suicide at the coaching hub in 48 hours.
Bhargav Mishra's body was found hanging from the ceiling fan of his paying guest accommodation. A resident of Champaran in Bihar, Mishra had gone to Kota in March.
A day before that, a 17-year-old NEET aspirant had allegedly committed suicide in Kota by putting a plastic bag on his face. Manjot Chabra hailed from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh. Chabra's parents, however, alleged that their son was murdered and filed a case against six people, including the owner of the hostel where he was staying.