Student Suicides: A big country like India, famous for people who are hardworking, dedicated and strong-willed amongst other things may seem prosperous to a bystander. But what about the struggles, the battles and the tears of the youth of the country, who go through the inner turmoil every day? And the effortless answer to their problems – Suicide.
Also Read: Suicide Rates Are Increasing Among Students: The Importance of Mental Peace
Rise of Student Suicides in 2025
In a piece of recent news, an 18-year-old girl preparing for JEE, Aditi, took her own life by hanging herself on Wednesday after the recently declared JEE results. She had been living in the Satyadeep Girls Hostel and was preparing for two years at the Momentum Coaching Center in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh.
A suicide note was found in her room that stated “Sorry mummy papa, forgive me… I could not do it… this was the end of our relationship… you guys don’t cry… you gave me a lot of love. I could… not fulfill your dreams… you guys please take care of Choti… she will definitely fulfill your dreams. Your beloved daughter, Aditi”.
In another case, Ankush Meena was found hanging from his ceiling fan in his PG room in Kota on Tuesday. He was preparing for NEET-UG in Kota and was living in the Pratap Nagar area. No suicide note has been found but a case has been registered under section 194 of the BNSS act.
More student suicides have occurred in Kota in the first month of 2025. A NEET aspirant Ashfa Sheikh hanged herself at her PG in Jawahar Nagar while an 18-year-old JEE aspirant from Assam, living in Mahaveer Nagar area committed suicide by hanging himself from an iron angle in his hostel room. Moreover, a 19-year old JEE aspirant from Haryana dies by suicide days before the exam.
As we continue to hear news like these, all the causes of death point to suicide. It makes us wonder, are exams like NEET and JEE worth loosing a life?
When Success Feels Like Survival
While transitioning from school to the dream college, life begins with enthusiasm and vigour. But when dreams turn into nightmares, even the initial success feels like basic survival. Balancing academics and mental health is a challenge. More so, for a student preparing for competitive exams like NEET and JEE.
The burden of pressure masked as joyful expectations morphing into academic pressure that eventually turns into a quest for survival leads students, preparing for competitive exams like NEET and JEE, to take drastic measures. Suicide is never an answer but rather the pathway to escape. To evade reality and our own follies. Of course, nobody wants to be a disappointment but in a country with a large population, nobody asks you if you are nothing.
Can we completely eradicate Student Suicides?
India has been observing a rise in student suicides in the past years. To minimize it, preventive measures have also been established. Owing to that, Kota, the educational hub, has seen an almost 50% decrease with 26 student death in 2023 to 17 student death in 2024. As of now, the number of suicide noted is seven in Kota. This change can be attributed to the enforcement of strict guidelines on coaching institutes and hostels, closely monitored by the district administration. However, is that enough?
No Dream Should Cost a Life
Change begins from within and only happens when the surrounding has positively reinforced itself in the candidate’s mind. To completely eradicate suicide may be a huge challenge but to minimize it, it begins with us. Why must we, as a society, put a huge pressure on the upcoming youth of the country when we cannot fathom its gravity?
Hence as preventive measures, parents, peers and the candidate must address the elephant in the room – the mental health issues triggered by academic stress. Gautam Adani urged students to prioritize mental health over exam results. Similarly, so many other individuals have spoken on the same. Apart from that, more emphasis must be given to other professions and fields of study, to promote diversity and dilution, subsequently reducing the number of student suicides.
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