The tragic death of a 17-year-old NEET aspirant in Rajasthan’s Kota on the eve of the NEET-UG exam has once again brought into sharp focus the intense academic pressure faced by students in India’s coaching hubs. The student, originally from Sheopur, Madhya Pradesh, had been preparing for the medical entrance test in Kota—a city known both for its educational institutions and its distressingly high student suicide rate.
Police said she was found hanging in her room around 9 pm on Saturday. Her parents, both government teachers, were reportedly at home at the time. No suicide note was recovered. A post-mortem was conducted Sunday morning, and the body has been handed over to the family. She is the 14th coaching student to die by suicide in Kota this year, following 17 similar cases in 2023—a continuing and deeply troubling trend.
This incident occurred just hours before the NEET-UG 2025 exam, being held at 5,453 centres across over 500 cities today, with more than 22.7 lakh students registered. The exam is one of the most competitive in India and determines admission into undergraduate medical and dental courses.
Given past controversies like paper leaks and unfair practices, the government has ramped up security this year. A Ministry of Education official confirmed that three-tier monitoring (district, state, and Centre levels) is in place. Mock drills, biometric checks, and mobile jammers are being used to ensure exam integrity. The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 has also been invoked to deter cheating with strict penalties.
However, these robust security measures contrast sharply with the lack of mental health support for students facing immense psychological pressure. Kota’s reputation as a “coaching factory” has long been marred by stories of stress, anxiety, and depression among aspirants, many of whom are teenagers living away from home with crushing expectations.
The tragedy serves as a grim reminder that exam reforms must go hand-in-hand with systemic mental health support. While cheating and leaks have rightly drawn attention, the emotional toll of this hyper-competitive system on young minds remains inadequately addressed.
