With the alarming rise in student deaths in Kota, Rajasthan authorities have issued a fresh set of guidelines for hostels housing outstation students in the city. These include installation of biometric attendance system, employing security guards, reporting absence of students besides informing parents of any significant change in a hosteler's behaviour.

District collector Ravi Kumar said the guidelines are part of measures being taken to ensure that coaching students in Kota get a stress-free and crime-free atmosphere.

The district administration also said that the hostels in the city need to be regulated and put under scrutiny.

Kota, often referred to as the capital of competitive exams in India, has been in the news lately for all the wrong reasons.

The city which sees almost 1.5 lakh students from across the country every year has registered an alarming increase in student suicides.