By most accounts, Kota’s coaching industry is hurting – stakeholders say the number of students is down from 2.5-2.75 lakh to 2 lakh, and the 4,000-odd hostels are operating at 60-70% occupancy. This, despite the number of student suicides coming down from 28 in 2023 to 17 in 2024, thanks in part to a series of proactive measures by the administration and industry stakeholders.

“Kuch galatfehmi ki wajah se vatavaran kharab kiya tha (the environment was vitiated due to some misunderstanding) … I appeal to my countrymen to send them (their children) to Kota, where they will get good sanskaar and quality education. The child studying here will lead the country and the world,” Om Birla said while talking to journalists at the beginning of the year.

“I appeal to people from the entire country that Kota is not only safe but also has an adhyatmik (spiritual) and educational environment; it has the best environment for education,” he said.

A new start

The city has seized on the new calendar year to attract students, perhaps hoping that some of the positivity and hope that comes with the festive season rubs off on their appeals and the announcements.

Both Collector Dr Ravindra Goswami and Superintendent of Police Amrita Duhan have issued an appeal and reassured the parents.

Stating that Kota has helped over 1 crore students in “building their future”, Goswami said in an open letter that “the whole of Kota is committed to taking care of children coming here like their own children”. The initiatives he listed include Kota Mahotsav, Gatekeeper Training (a WHO-recommended suicide prevention strategy), SOS help by police for students, patrolling by Kalika Squad, continuous monitoring and communication with students by senior officials, and personal attention to students by trained and skilled teachers.

Goswami, who came here for the first time as a student, albeit briefly, said that he has had “direct communication” with students through the Dinner with Collector and Samvad programs in the last year. He joined as Kota Collector on January 6, 2024.

On December 23, the administration launched ‘Kota Cares’, which aims to bring together stakeholders through a holistic approach. The idea is to “make the stakeholders feel proud that they have cared for over 1 crore students, and that there is no need to panic because of the negativity that is being spread.”

“You should be proud of yourself as the students, who are now everywhere, are your brand ambassadors,” Goswami told The Indian Express. “Second, parents are being assured that Kota is the only city which takes so much care of students, no other city has such an ecosystem. Other than that, there is always scope for improvement, and we try to address even the smallest of issues faced by students.”

Goswami said that through the Dinner with Collector campaign or short notice visits to coaching centers, he interacted with over 25,000 students, which helped fine-tune the strategies to take better care of students.

As part of the Gatekeeper Training in July and September last year, over 7,000 hostel owners, security staff, coaching teachers, etc were trained, which Goswami says is among the largest in the world. In the next phase, the district administration will go deeper and train auto drivers, laundrymen, vendors, etc.

He claimed that currently, there are around 2 lakh students, down from the usual 2.5 to 2.75 lakh. He said this is “because of disinformation and the spread of negativity. Moreover, students are shifting to online mode and coaching centers are also becoming decentralised.”

He said that due to various measures, student suicides in Kota “declined from 28 in 2023 to 17 in 2024. Kota is a misrepresented city, and I am trying to dispel the misunderstanding.”

Outreach to parents

Superintendent of Police Amrita Duhan, addressing the parents of students studying in Kota as well as those who may want to send their children, said in a video message, “I would just like to say that you can send your children here without worrying. The administration and police have taken a lot of initiatives so that the students here get a good environment to study; it already has the best guidance. If anyone has doubts, they should remove them because we are committed to ensuring that the students coming here get a safe environment.”

She also listed the initiatives: a collaboration with Meta which informs them about any self-harm post, a dedicated wing of the local police for students, a helpline, and permanent and temporary police outposts in coaching areas.

“Kota ko faltu mein badnaam kiya ja raha hai (Kota is being unnecessarily defamed) but it is not actually like that, and the suicides have indeed declined drastically,” says Naveen Mittal, president of the Hostel Association in Kota, adding that “everyone involved is working together to bring this figure to zero.”

Mittal says that there are over 4,000 hostels in Kota and the current occupancy is about 60-70 per cent or about 1.2 lakh, down from over 2 lakhs when Kota reopened post-Covid in 2022-23. He said that the coaching business has declined across the country, not just in Kota.

The hostels too have launched an initiative wherein parents can stay at the hostel for a day free of cost before finalizing the place for their child.

“When parents come to Kota, the first thing they want to know about is the hostel since that’s where their child is going to spend the most time, as the coaching is already decided. They want to know how the food and security is. So far, they used to stay at the hotel, but we are running a campaign wherein their one-day stay and meal will be free,” Mittal said.

“They can also talk to other students already living in the hostel and take a final call… The kind of care Kota has for students, you won’t find it elsewhere because it has developed over the last three decades,” he said.

The measures complement the various existing mechanisms to prevent suicides and ensure the mental well-being of students, such as Sanishtha, an emotional well-being center run by Allen. Launched in 2022, it provides students with academic, health, psychological, spiritual, counseling or other needs under one roof.

Dr Harish Sharma, who heads Sanishtha, says that students from any coaching center pursuing any course can approach them in person or through a call, 24×7. It is provided free of cost, and currently, the staff receives about 40-50 calls daily, he says.

With another academic cycle approaching, it remains to be seen whether the initiatives will pay off.