Parents are to be blamed, not coaching institutes: Court on Kota student suicides

The Supreme Court has stated that it is the parents who have to be blamed, not the institutions, for putting undue pressure on their children in entrance coaching hubs such.

As Rajasthan’s Kota, which witnesses frequent student suicides. The top court was hearing a plea seeking regulation of private coaching institutes.

“Coaching institutes in Kota cannot be blamed. It is parents putting undue pressure on their children in a highly competitive environment which is leading to students ending their lives,” the division bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti said on Monday.

The court observed that “suicides are not happening because of the coaching institutes. They happen because the children cannot meet the expectations of their parents.”

The Supreme Court noted that the number of deaths could be much higher.

“Exams have become very competitive, and there are a lot of expectations from parents. Students are losing out by half a mark or one mark in such exams and are not able to cope with the pressure,” the court said.

It further said, “Although most of us will not want any coaching institute to be there, but look at the conditions of schools. There is intense competition and students have no other option but to go to these coaching institutes.”

The bench, which was hearing Public Interest Litigation (PIL), however, said it is a policy issue and “we cannot direct states to form a policy.”

The petitioner withdrew the PIL after the court asked him to make a representation before the government.

The counsel in the case has confirmed that the petitioner will be approaching the government with a representation to regulate private coaching institutes throughout India.