Coaching institutes to add psychological counseling: Rajasthan government

The Rajasthan government has recently came up with a decision where psychological studies will also be a part of the curriculum. They are worried about the rising number of suicides among students of coaching institutes in Kota, so have asked the coaching institutes to add recreational activities in their curriculum and provide psychological counseling.

According to a report in Press Trust of India (PTI), Rajasthan Technical and Higher Education Minister, Kali Charan Saraf, said "The district collector of Kota had been directed to formulate guidelines in this regard in consultation with directors of coaching institutes. The coaching institutes in Kota have been asked to add recreational activities in their curriculum and provide psychological counseling to its students to help them deal stress better."

He added, "All students are not of equal talent and merit. This should be understood by the parents before putting the burden of their dreams and aspirations on the kids. Proposals have been sought from Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh governments to formulate a policy on coaching institutes in the state”.

"Around 10-11 suicides by the students in Kota are in my knowledge. According to data released by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) recently, Kota has registered 100 suicide cases in 2014 and 45 of them were coaching students," he included

The report states the stress of studies and failure in examination among the key causes of suicide among coaching students in Kota.