'Killer' tag leaves Kota’s economy tottering; will city ace this test?

Unfounded fears?

However, despite the city’s notoriety for student suicides which always make headlines, after living in Kota, she discovered that her apprehensions were largely unfounded, Samyukta told The Federal.

Also read: Rajasthan: JEE aspirant from MP hangs self in Kota; second 'suicide' in 24 hours

“Despite the disparaging publicity, I have found Kota to be a city on the rebound. It is a resilient city, where all stakeholders in the coaching industry and even common people have come together this time to wipe off negative publicity and get its economy on track. And we are seeing this in many of the innovative initiatives that are being implemented,” she said.

Sources in the coaching industry say even though stakeholders are taking various initiatives and reforms to ensure a stress-free atmosphere for aspirants, the negative publicity the city received in the wake of student suicides has already delivered a huge blow to its economy.

Tuition hub’s stellar record

Post India’s economic liberalisation, Kota carved out a niche for itself by offering a unique model of rigorous classroom coaching to crack India’s toughest entrance exams like the Indian Institute of Technology, Joint Entrance Exam (IIT JEE) and National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET). It basked in the glory of producing toppers each year.

Kota’s hyper-competitive coaching institutes, numbering over 300, ensured that one in every three students selected for the IITs was from their stables. This earned the city and its institutes a stellar reputation.

Also read: 50% decline in student suicides in Kota compared to last year: DM

This year, too, out of the 14 students who scored 100 percentile in JEE Mains, four were from Kota’s coaching institutes.

Offering the distinctive ‘Kota edge’, it became India’s only coaching hub where students from far-off places flocked to achieve their dreams of becoming engineers and doctors.

Booming tuition industry

The city, which was once an industrial town known for its engineering and fertiliser industries, and thermal power plants, witnessed the mushrooming of coaching institutes, hostels, rentals, dabbawalas, and tiffin centres.

As a result, its economy began to thrive around the tuition industry. Today, Kota largely depends on the floating population of about 2 lakh students a year for its economic survival.

The city's annual revenue touched Rs 6,500 to 7,000 crore a year in the post-COVID days with around 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh students enrolling in its coaching institutes. In the pre-COVID days, the revenue hovered around Rs 3,000-3,500 crore.

Also read: NEET aspirant dies by suicide in Kota, 15th case since January this year

During his or her stay in Kota, each student spends an average of Rs 3 to Rs 4 lakh annually including the tuition fees which can go up to Rs 2 lakh per year.

The massive influx of students fuelled the local economy and real estate boomed with the opening of hostels, paying guest accommodations, and luxury accommodations. Local businesses also got a shot in the arm with food vendors, stationery shops, cycle shops, transport facilitators, the healthcare industry, psychological counselling, and recreational facilities all partaking of its fruits.

Suicides and fall from grace

Manoj Sharma, an independent growth consultant with the Resonance Institute, told The Federal that though the number of students surged after the city opened up following the pandemic, the numbers fell drastically due to negative publicity in the wake of student suicides in more recent years.

“The numbers reached around 2.5 lakh just after COVID as the online mode of coaching probably did not find favour with serious students. After two years of online tuitions, they wanted to join offline classroom coaching as it goaded them to follow a disciplined, and strict schedule required to crack competitive exams,” Sharma told The Federal.

“However, the number dropped drastically after the negative publicity surrounding the suicides. It also fell because of the scattered presence of coaching centres across the country, strict government guidelines, and an impression of the city becoming too commercial. The drop has been around 50 per cent in the last financial year, hitting the annual revenue and the hostel industry badly,” he added.

Also read: Kota: Coaching student dies in 'suspicious' condition in hostel, parents shun probe

Grim statistics

While grim student suicide statistics – seven in the first two months of 2025, 17 in 2024 and 26 in 2023 – and the damaging press has dented Kota’s fame, the city’s success rate too hasn’t been encouraging.

The toppers do shine. But, of the 1.5 to 2 lakh students every year, only about 5,000 students secure seats in the top IITs and medical colleges, representing a success rate of around 2.5 per cent.

This puts a question mark on the efficacy of the Kota model.

Distressed economy

The decline in business has hit the city’s economy hard. With the city currently hosting around 85,000 to 1 lakh students, many of the over 4,000-odd hostels and ultra-modern flats built to house families remain occupied.

The rent has come down steeply from Rs 15,000-Rs 20,000 to just Rs 8,000 per month per head. This has directly hit the city’s annual revenue, which has slumped to around Rs 3,500 crore from Rs 6,500 crore in the previous years.

Experts say the adverse publicity after each suicide, the emulation of the Kota brand of teaching methodology in other cities, and students’ decision to prepare from their home cities, have led to a decline in Kota admissions.

Also read: Kota Factory Season 3 review: A utopian tale of dreams, despair in the coaching capital

However, a report on the troubling rise in student suicides in India by IC3 Institute, a volunteer-based organisation that provides training resources for counsellors, ranked Kota 10th amongst cities with the highest cases of student suicides. It based its statistics on data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiled till 2022.

‘Kota is resilient, will rebound’

Kota has, however, seen enough debacles in the past including cheating allegations from particular centres, and bitter rivalry and one-upmanship between its 300-odd institutes. It has also struggled for survival during the pandemic.

But each time it has been able to hold forth and stay in the race.

Among the many initiatives taken by stakeholders to help the city regain its lost glory are Vatsalya training sessions. These special sessions are held for mothers who give up their family life and careers to be with their children while the latter are preparing for some of the toughest entrance examinations in the country.

The sessions, offered across various campuses in Kota, impart academic, psychological, and wellness lessons to mothers to enable them to support their children preparing for competitive exams.

United front

Samyukta, who is a part of these sessions, said she has connected with several others like her, who have left behind their familiar surroundings to be in Kota, making children their top priority.

Also read: 'Sorry Papa': Another student suicide rocks coaching hub Kota, sixth this year

“We have been hearing about the declining footfall of students in this coaching hub, courtesy of the continuous feed of suicide news. However, I have been a firm believer in Kota's unique teaching methodology, which keeps the students on their toes and has churned out toppers every year," she told The Federal.

"And, that is what made me come here with my daughter. Participating in the Vatsalya sessions has helped me to cope with a lonely, stressful environment and become a true friend to my child. Most of all I have made friends, who like me are all sailing in the same boat,” she added.

Coming soon | Part 2: How Kota is helping students cope

(Suicides can be prevented. For help please call Suicide Prevention Helplines: Neha Suicide Prevention Centre – 044-24640050; Aasara helpline for suicide prevention, emotional support & trauma help — +91-9820466726; Kiran, Mental health rehabilitation — 1800-599-0019, Disha 0471- 2552056, Maithri 0484 2540530, and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.)