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Are coaching centres driving students to suicide? 50 died in 60 days

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Nimrat Kaur
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Are coaching centres driving students to suicide? 50 died in 60 days
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Students from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have been consistently among the toppers securing seats in IITs and other national institutes. But this success story hides another reality — the trauma and silent suffering of thousands of youth who are forced into a system. The recent number of suicides by students enrolled with corporate colleges and coaching centres has evoked widespread outrage across the two states, with educational experts, child rights activists and mental health professionals calling for changes in the system. Unable to cope with academic pressure, more than 50 students have committed suicide in the last two months alone. Most of them were enrolled with private colleges preparing students for national-level competitive examinations. “I lost my daughter. We failed to read the signals. My only advice to other parents is: please understand what your children are going through when you put them in such colleges,” says Rajendra, a bus driver, whose daughter Samyuktha took her life owing to the pressure at a coaching centre in Hyderabad. She was preparing for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) to get admission in a medical college. The 17-year-old left a suicide note, saying she was unable to cope with the academic regimen. “Criminal cases should be filed against such institutes, torturing the students physically and mentally in the name of coaching. They have been having a free run for too long,” says child rights activist Achytha Rao. “There is no doubt that Telugu students have been bagging the maximum number of seats in IITs and NITs, but at what cost? Are we not putting them through torture chambers?” asks education expert S Ramakrishna. Andhra Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu held a meeting with representatives of top junior corporate colleges and asked them to set things in order. New rules have been framed, stipulating that the classes should not be held for more than eight hours a day and strict action be taken against teachers in case of “verbal or physical assault”. The Education Ministers in both states have called for fresh guidelines to run these institutes, most of which are owned by influential politicians. Telangana is thinking of introducing the grading system for Classes XI and XII to lessen the pressure on students, according to its Special Chief Secretary (Education) Ranjeev Acharya. -PTC News-
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