Editorial: Rein in the coaching factories

A mismatch between rising aspirations and shrinking opportunities has created enormous stress — a pressure cooker kind of situation, for the youth

Hyderabad: Kota, home to India’s most famous coaching factories for admission into the sought-after engineering and medical colleges, presents a picture of stark contrast; on one hand, it producers top rankers and high achievers while on the other it has earned a dubious tag of suicide hub. Thousands of students converge on this small town in Rajasthan from all over the country every year, driven by big dreams and aspirations, but only a fraction of them succeed in their missions. For the rest, the sense of rejection can be very hard to handle. In the battle for survival of the smartest, many will become disillusioned, broken and scarred. The recent suicide by two students, unable to cope with the academic pressure, has once again brought into focus the morbid phenomenon of high suicide rate plaguing what is being marketed as India’s leading educational hub. In December last year, three students — two from Bihar and one from Madhya Pradesh – died by suicide on a single day, evoking massive outrage. According to official data, 22 students took their own lives last year. Since 2011, around 121 have committed suicide. Typically, the coaching centres in Kota have a 14 hours-a-day schedule with tests even on Sundays. The relentless pressure to ace a tough curriculum, shame and guilt of experiencing the very human need for a break, fierce competition, and the fear of failure — not to mention the loneliness of being far away from home — have taken a toll on many young lives.

A mismatch between rising aspirations and shrinking opportunities has created enormous stress — a pressure cooker kind of situation, for the youth. This must be treated as a public health crisis that requires urgent attention. The issue has now found resonance in the ongoing Rajasthan Assembly session. The State government is planning to table the Rajasthan Coaching Institutes (Control and Regulation) Bill to address the problems and issues leading to stress and suicides — lack of self-confidence arising from poor performance and the rigorous grind at the coaching centres, pressure of parental expectations, physical and mental stress and financial constraints. While the provisions of the new Bill — mandatory counselling and aptitude test for admission to coaching institutes so as to sift out those not cut out for the stream and sharing of results with guardians — are well-intended, the key, however, lies in their effective implementation. The guidelines issued in 2018 for putting in place psychological help and other aids for the students and also regulating the private institutes are observed more in the breach than in the practice. It is also incumbent on the parents to candidly discuss the career choices and aptitude of their children and not push them into difficult corners. Apart from providing good education, they should also prepare them to meet the challenges of life including setbacks in professional and personal spheres.