Kota, Suicides & the Web of Expectations
A flawed education policy and society's single-minded approach to success is robbing kids of their individuality and lives.
It's been raining intermittently. Just like the clouds that descend and darken the skies, the news keeps throwing us under a pall of gloom, some days more than others. A 16-year-old kid preparing for NEET died by suicide in Rajasthan's Kota recently. So far this year, 24 other kids have died by suicide in the same coaching hub.
Kota, with its rankings and success stories, is where thousands of kids gather to prepare for IIT, NEET and other competitive exams. Media reports estimate that the hub generates about ₹10,000 crores of business annually. The number reflects our society's single-minded approach to success. An approach that not just throttles individuality in its bud but throws kids into an environment where nothing matters others than grades. Little surprise then that every year news trickles in of kids succumbing to the pressure, not just in Kota but across the country.
We often think of this David Ignatow poem that sums up the Indian familial system and society.
Caught in its web,
he surrendered to being eaten,
grateful for the love
it signified
Eaten, chewed and shaped into conformity is more like it. Anyway, a week following that suicide, news came in that the government has struck down cutoffs for NEET to zero, rendering it of no value instantly. Our thoughts immediately went to the 16-year-old, to the many lives lost since the introduction of NEET. Will this move help students? Not really. It's been seen as a way to fill the coffers of private colleges; make admissions even harder for the deserving who can't afford exorbitant fees; not to even mention diluting the pool of future doctors. In short, just about as beneficial as Kota administration's decision to install spring-loaded fans to desist students from taking their lives.
If the Byjus and edtech saga shows anything, it's that nothing is going to change. Students are going to be laden with expectations with scant regard for their lives. Sadly, the series Kota Factory, which could have resonated with these kids, fails miserably. It propagates the same notion, falls into cliches, and never manages to show the pressure these kids are under. If you are a student, please know there are always more doors to be opened.
Poetry: The Door by Miroslav Holub
Go and open the door.
Maybe outside there’s
a tree, or a wood,
a garden,
or a magic city.
Go and open the door.
Maybe a dog’s rummaging.
Maybe you’ll see a face,
or an eye,
or the picture
of a picture.
Go and open the door.
If there’s a fog
it will clear.
Go and open the door.
Even if there’s only
the darkness ticking,
even if there’s only
the hollow wind,
even if
nothing
is there,
go and open the door.
At least
there’ll be
a draught.