A city in the Indian state of Rajasthan has ordered safety measures in student dormitories, after a wave of suicides among them.
The city of Kota, located on the edge of the desert in the state of Rajasthan (northwest), includes a large number of private schools that prepare its students to enter prestigious medical or engineering colleges, but its reputation has been tainted by the growing incidence of suicide among students: with more than twenty cases since the beginning in 2023, compared to 15 in 2022.
As a result, on Thursday, the Kuta district administration issued an order to student housing companies to raise ceiling fans in bedrooms so that they cannot support human weight.
"To prevent an increase in student suicides (...), all operators of hostels and private guest houses in the state are required to install a spring-loaded safety device in the ventilation fans of each room," the order reads.
According to the media, 150,000 students from all over the country are enrolled in more than 300 private institutes in Kota.
At the national level, India recorded more than 164,000 suicides in 2021, of which 8% were among students, and these cases are often due to people who failed exams, according to the latest available official statistics.
