88 students died by suicide in IITs, Central Universities since 2018

Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar said in the Parliament that the data on the number of suicide cases of students in colleges across the country is not maintained. However, he provided numbers of suicide cases in Central Universities, NITs, IITs and more. As per the information shared, 88 students died by suicide in IITs, Central Universities since 2018.

While replying to a question on the number of students studying in education institutions who committed suicide, the Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar said the majority of educational institutions in the country fall in the purview of the state/UT government. The number of suicide cases among students of all these institutions across the country is not maintained. As far as the Central institutes are concerned as many as 88 students died by suicide in IITs, Central Universities since 2018.

As per the Accidental Deaths & Suicide in India (ADSI), 2021, Report of National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), there are various causes of suicides like professional / Career problems, sense of isolation, abuse, violence, family problems, mental disorders etc. 

National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 provides for counselling systems for handling stress and emotional adjustments in Institutions. It also provisions opportunities for students to participate in sports, culture/arts clubs, eco-clubs, activity clubs, community service projects, etc. To address the issue of mental health and well-being during and after COVID, University Grants Commission (UGC) had issued advisories to Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) on April 05, 2020.UGC has also issued Guidelines for Promotion of Physical Fitness, Sports, Student’s Health, Welfare, Psychological and Emotional Well- being at HEIs. In January 2023, University Grants Commission (UGC), has circulated the National Suicide Prevention Strategy formulated by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The Ministry has undertaken various steps such as peer assisted learning, introduction of technical education in regional languages for students in order to ease the academic stress. The 

Government of India initiative, named MANODARPAN, covers a wide range of activities to provide psychological support to students, teachers and families for mental and emotional well-being during the COVID outbreak and beyond. The Ministry has also advised the institutions to make the system more robust that would include prevention, detection and remedial measures for addressing possible cause of suicides.

He said the higher educational institutions take various steps such as conducting workshops/ seminars on Happiness and Wellness, regular sessions on Yoga, induction programs, extracurricular activities including sports and cultural activities, assigning of one faculty adviser for group of students to support with their academics and monitor their progress, and appointment of Student Counsellors for overall personality development and de-stressing students. 

More Details

With regard to Central Universities (CUs), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and other Centrally Funded Technical Institutes i.e. Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIITs), Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISERs) the details of number of students who committed suicide during the last five years and current year are given below.

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