India orders springs in fans to prevent pupil suicides in coaching hub

Authorities in India’s Kota city have directed hostels and guest houses to install spring-loaded fans in a desperate attempt to stop pupils from taking their own lives.

The directive comes after an 18-year-old pupil died by suicide on Tuesday.

It was the fourth such death in August and the 21st this year – the highest in eight years in the city known as the “coaching factory”.

The city, in the north-western state of Rajasthan, has been rocked by about two dozen such cases this year involving schoolchildren hanging themselves from the fans.

Kota is known for its innumerable coaching centres. Thousands of pupils come to the city to prepare for exams.

“Kota is an education hub but 15-20 students have committed suicide this year. To prevent such mishaps, the district administration has decided to install the spring device,” senior police officer Brij Mohan Bairwa told The National.

“We are making it mandatory in all hostels and PGs and everywhere where students stay. We have directed police to visit every hostel and accommodation and make sure the device is installed.”

The spring-loaded fans are designed to uncoil when they detect a load of more than 20 kilograms, Mr Bairwa said, effectively detaching the fan from the ceiling if someone attempts to hang themselves.

They will also have sensors that sound an alarm in the event of an attempted suicide.

“If anyone attempts [suicide], the fan will break and the student will survive. We can prevent suicide cases with the device,” he said.

Exam pressure

The move comes amid mounting pressure on pupils to achieve good grades to pursue careers in engineering and technology.

India has the world's largest number of engineers and more than 6,000 government-approved engineering institutes.

Pupils have achieve high marks to secure admission to the colleges, with the Joint Entrance Examination one of the country's most popular.

There are about 2.4 million students enrolled each year in engineering and technology courses at various government and private institutions, the Human Resource Development Ministry has said.

Competition for places is intense due to the large number of applicants, expensive private colleges and limited seats at government institutes.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of pupils apply for the entrance exams but only 20,000 to 25,000 pass the exams and are eligible to enrol with top institutes such as the Indian Institute of Technology.

Pupils at the Bansal Classes coaching institute in Kota, which has a sprawling five-acre campus, 10,000 pupils and better amenities than most schools in India.

To prepare for the entrance exam, more than 200,000 pupils from far and wide, mostly from middle class families, sign up for months-long coaching classes in Kota and stay in tiny rooms.

However, over the past decade, several pupils have committed suicide after coming under immense pressure to pass the exams and meet their families' often unrealistic hopes.

In the last eight months, at least 21 schoolchildren have died.

Many experts criticised the government directive, saying it was a temporary measure to deal with a serious issue, but Mr Bairwa said the device would help to bring down such cases.

“It is one of the measures to prevent suicides. Along with this, we are also in touch with NGOs and experts to provide counselling to students,” he said.

A 17-year-old pupil from impoverished Bihar state died by suicide in a hostel on August 11. Another suicide was reported on August 3. Both pupils had arrived in the city four months ago, police said.

At least 15 pupils died by suicide in Kota last year while 18 such deaths were reported in 2019, 20 in 2018, seven in 2017, according to police data.

No suicide took place in 2020 and 2021 as the coaching centres were closed due to Covid-19 restrictions.

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Tips on buying property during a pandemic

Islay Robinson, group chief executive of mortgage broker Enness Global, offers his advice on buying property in today's market.

While many have been quick to call a market collapse, this simply isn’t what we’re seeing on the ground. Many pockets of the global property market, including London and the UAE, continue to be compelling locations to invest in real estate.

While an air of uncertainty remains, the outlook is far better than anyone could have predicted. However, it is still important to consider the wider threat posed by Covid-19 when buying bricks and mortar.

Anything with outside space, gardens and private entrances is a must and these property features will see your investment keep its value should the pandemic drag on. In contrast, flats and particularly high-rise developments are falling in popularity and investors should avoid them at all costs.

Attractive investment property can be hard to find amid strong demand and heightened buyer activity. When you do find one, be prepared to move hard and fast to secure it. If you have your finances in order, this shouldn’t be an issue.

Lenders continue to lend and rates remain at an all-time low, so utilise this. There is no point in tying up cash when you can keep this liquidity to maximise other opportunities.

Keep your head and, as always when investing, take the long-term view. External factors such as coronavirus or Brexit will present challenges in the short-term, but the long-term outlook remains strong.

Finally, keep an eye on your currency. Whenever currency fluctuations favour foreign buyers, you can bet that demand will increase, as they act to secure what is essentially a discounted property.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”