Parliament Question: Suicides among students

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 399 ANSWERED ON 01/04/2026 SUICIDES AMONG STUDENTS 399 Dr. John Brittas: Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state: (a) total number of students who committed suicide in higher educational institutions and tuition centres during last three years; (b) year-wise, State-wise, and category-wise (male and female, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and General Category) details thereof; and (c) reasons identified for these suicides, details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF EDUCATION (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN) (a) to (c): A statement is laid on the Table of the House. ***** 1STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) to (c) OF THE RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 399 ANSWERED ON 01.04.2026 ASKED BY DR. JOHN BRITTAS, HON’BLE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT REGARDING SUICIDES AMONG STUDENTS (a) to (c): National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) collects data on suicides from police recorded suicide cases. Comprehensive analysis of the data related to the accidental deaths and suicides in the country is published in the yearly Accidental Death & Suicide in India (ADSI) reports by National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB). Year wise , State wise, Gender and Age group wise details of student suicides are available in the ADSI reports which are accessible at https://ncrb.gov.in/accidental-deaths-suicides-in-india-year-wise.html . As per these Reports, there are various causes of suicides like professional/career problems, sense of isolation, abuse, violence, family problems, mental disorders, addiction to alcohol, financial loss, chronic pain etc. As far as the Central Government is concerned; to address the issue of suicide, it is taking multi- pronged measures and provides psychological support to students, teachers and families for mental and emotional well-being to avoid incidences of suicide. An initiative of Ministry of Education, MANODARPAN, covers a wide range of activities to provide psychological support to students, teachers and families for mental and emotional well- being such as National toll-free helpline to provide guidance to callers through trained counsellor; live interactive sessions ‘Sahyog’ and Webinars ‘Paricharcha’ that are organized regularly to create awareness about the importance of mental health among all stakeholders, students in all States/UTs etc. These sessions are telecast on PM e-Vidya channels and are also available on ‘NCERT Official’ YouTube Channel. UGC has issued advisory to HEIs in January, 2023 circulating the National Suicide Prevention Strategy framed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. UGC also issued Guidelines for Promotion of Physical Fitness, Sports, Student’s Health, Welfare, Psychological and Emotional Well- being at HEIs on 13.04.2023. The Ministry of Education in July, 2023 has circulated a framework guideline on emotional and mental well-being of students in Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) with request to take proactive measures to incorporate the same in the institutional functioning and instil a feeling of confidence in the student community. The guidelines emphasised counselling services, early distress identification, suicide prevention SOPs, student support networks, strengthened grievance redressal mechanisms, and periodic institutional review to ensure sustained effectiveness. The framework has been further strengthened through the Guidelines for Regulation of Coaching Centres (January 2024) issued by the Ministry of Education, which mandates student-support and protection measures such as counselling facilities, transparent fee structures, prohibition of batch segregation, and safeguards against practices that intensify academic pressure - extending mental-wellbeing protections beyond campuses. Modules on student mental health, resilience, and wellbeing have been integrated into the Malaviya Mission Teacher Training Programme (MMTTP). Further, fortnightly online capacity-building sessions are being conducted for faculty across centrally funded institutions. These initiatives aim to strengthen early identification and timely response mechanisms, fostering a more supportive academic environment. 2At the institutional level, several HEIs are operationalising the framework through proactive, multi-layered models. For instance, IIT Kharagpur has implemented a comprehensive SETU (Support, Empathy, Transformation & Upliftment) framework, moving from reactive care to preventive, round-the-clock support. Adhering to the Ministry’s guidelines, IIT Madras, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Gandhinagar and IIT Roorkee have conducted workshops on Mental Wellness & Stress Management. All IITs, IIMs, NITs and IIITs have put in place dedicated mental health or counselling centres within their campuses, staffed with full-time or visiting professional counsellors, clinical psychologists, and in some cases, psychiatrists. To address the issue of mental health, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is implementing National Mental Health Programme in the country, which include outpatient services, assessment, counselling/ psycho-social interventions, continuing care and support to persons with severe mental disorders, drugs, outreach services, ambulance services etc at Community Health Centre (CHC) and Primary Health Centre (PHC) levels. In addition, the Government is also taking steps to strengthen mental healthcare services at primary healthcare level. The Government has upgraded more than 1.81 lakh Sub Health Centres (SHCs) and Primary Health Centres (PHCs) to Ayushman Arogya Mandirs. Mental health services have been added in the packages of services under Comprehensive Primary Health Care provided at these Ayushman Arogya Mandirs. A National Tele Mental Health Programme has been launched in 2022, to improve access to quality mental health counselling and care services in the country. As on 27.03.2026, 36 States/ UTs have set up 53 Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States (MANAS) Cells. More than 35,28,000 calls have been handled on the helpline number. The Government has also launched Tele MANAS Mobile Application, which is a comprehensive mobile platform that has been developed to provide support for mental health issues ranging from wellbeing to mental disorders. In addition, a video consultation facility has been introduced under Tele-MANAS, as an upgrade to the existing audio calling service. *** 3