Kota, Rajasthan

Amid a rise in the number of suicide cases in the Indian city of Kota, the officials on Monday (28 August) chaired a meeting in which decisions like 'half-day study, half-day fun' on one weekday, identification of students with suicidal tendencies and psychological counselling were taken.

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The meeting, which was chaired by Bhawani Singh Detha, principal secretary (higher and technical education), through video conference, was also attended by representatives of coaching institutes and hostel association, according to the officials.

Bhawani Detha is also the chairman of a committee formed on the direction of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to look into the matter. The committee is set to visit Kota on Saturday (September 2) to take stock of the situation.

Other crucial measures to curb suicide cases

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In an effort to reduce the burden of courses on the students, the coaching institutes have been asked to create a committee of subject experts. They have also been asked to regularly hold motivational sessions online by experts and upload the same on social media.

According to the officials, in the meeting, the decision was taken that the coaching institutes will hold 'half-day study, half-day fun' every Wednesday and will not conduct any routine tests for the next two consecutive days.

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In addition, a form will be created to assess the mental status of the students which they will be asked to fill on a daily basis.

The poor performers and absentees will be identified and will be provided psychological counselling.

The meeting was conducted after two NEET aspirants committed suicide on Sunday (27 August).

The other officials who attended the meeting included Kota Collector O P Bunkar, SP Sharad Chaudhary, Additional Collector (Administration) Rajkumar Singh, and Additional SP Bhagwat Singh Hingad.

"It is an alarming situation as so many students are committing suicides," Kota district collector Bunkar said after the meeting on Monday afternoon.

Kota City SP Choudhary proposed to set up an exclusive police station for students.

"As an expansion of students' police helpdesk already functional, I gave the idea of setting up a police station for students in Kota to address their concerns," Sharad Chaudhary told reporters.

(With inputs from agencies)

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