NEW DELHI: As many as 15 students died by suicide this year, with nine cases reported from Central Universities alone, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.
The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs) reported three cases each this year.
From 2018 to 2023, as many as 103 students in these higher educational institutes in India have taken the extreme step.
In 2018 and 2019, 20 students died each by suicide. In 2020, the number dipped to 13 and dropped to 10 in 2021.
In 2022, 25 students died by suicide, and the maximum number of cases were reported from IITs. As many as nine students in IITs took the extreme step last year.
In 2018 and 2019, eight cases each - the highest - were from IITs alone.
However, in 2020, AIIMS and Central Universities reported four cases each, while three cases were reported from IIT.
In 2021, four cases were reported IITs out of the ten suicides reported from these higher educational institutes.
In 2022, out of the 25 cases, nine were from IITs, followed by seven from NITs, five from central universities and three from AIIMS.
In a written reply, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “The government accords the highest importance to each incident of suicide on campuses of educational institutions and has initiated numerous initiatives in this regard."
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 provisions for counselling systems for handling stress and emotional adjustments in institutions, he said.
He said the education ministry had undertaken various steps, such as peer-assisted learning introduction of technical education in regional languages for students to ease the academic stress.
The government's 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-19 outbreak and beyond.
Besides this, students’ specialised psychological counselling helplines, students’ wellness centres, buddy-support systems and various other measures have been implemented in IITs and other institutions for early detection of cases of psychological stress, he added.
Discussing suicides can be triggering for some. However, suicides are preventable. In case you feel distressed by the content or know someone in distress, call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7)