Lok Sabha Question No. 2498 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-31
Subject: Suicides in Campuses
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: MAUSAM NOOR

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No.2498 TO BE ANSWERED ON 31.07.2017

## Suicides in Campuses

2498. SHRIMATI MAUSAM NOOR:

Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) the data of student suicides in school and college campuses during the last three years and the current year, State-wise;

(b) whether the Ministry is collecting or recording data regarding the reasons or causes behind such suicides and if so, the details thereof;

- (c) whether the Ministry is promoting counseling sessions for students; and
- (d) if so, the details of other steps taken by the Government to prevent such suicides?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRI UPENDRA KUSHWAHA)

(a): Data of Student Suicides in schools and colleges is not available, however, Indian  Institute  of  Technology's  (IITs),    University  Grant  Commission  (UGC), Navodaya  Vidyalaya  Samiti  (NVS)  and  Kendriya  Vidyalaya  Sangathan  (KVS) have reported the data of student suicides.

- (i) During the last three years, 12 cases of suicides have been reported in various IITs, which include 4 cases in 2014, 5 cases in 2015 and 3 cases in 2016.
- (ii) University  Grant  Commission  (UGC)  has  received  35  suicides  cases  on  Anti  Ragging helpline from 1.1.2014 to 26.7.2017. State-wise and Year-wise suicides cases details are at Annexure-I .
- (iii) The  details  of  student  suicides  in  Navodaya  Vidyalayas  in  the  last  three years/current year State wise is at Annexure - II .
- (iv) In  Kendriya  Vidyalaya  Sangathan  (KVS)  no  case  of  student  suicide  in  school campus has been reported for the last three years and current year.
- (v) Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is an examination conducting body and does not maintain data pertaining to suicide by students.

(b): No study has been done regarding reasons or causes behind suicides by students, however,  the  reasons  vary  from  Academic  stress,  domestic  and  personnel  reasons. UGC  has  appointed  monitoring  agency  for  collecting  or  recording  data  of  ragging complaints.  The  details  of  all  such  complaints  are  updated  on  UGC  Anti  Ragging Website  www.antiragging.in  or  www.amanmovement.org.  Navodaya  Vidyalaya  Samiti collect and maintain the data regarding the reasons / causes behind such suicides.

(c)  and  (d):  (i)    IITs  have  been  taking  various  steps  such  as  peer  assisted  learning, special languages classes for week students in order to ease the academic stress. In addition,  IITs  conduct  Workshops  /Seminars  on  Happiness  and  wellness,  regular sessions  on  Yoga,  induction  programs,  extracurricular  activities  including  sports  and cultural  activities  and  appointment  of  Student  Counselors  for  overall  personality development and distressing students.

(ii)  UGC  has  notified  the  UGC  Anti  Ragging  Regulations  or  curbing  the  menace  of ragging in higher educational institutions, 2009. The UGC has made it mandatory for all institutions  to  incorporate  in  their  prospectus  the  directions  of  the  Government regarding  prohibition  and  consequences  of  ragging.  A  nation-wide  toll  free  24X7  anti ragging  helpline  1800-180-5522  in  12  languages  has  been  established  which  can  be accessed  by  students  in  distress  owing  to  ragging  related  incidents.  UGC  has  also developed the Anti Ragging Mobile Application for filing the complaint on ragging, filing the affidavit and for calling the Toll Free Anti Ragging Helpline Number and same may be downloaded from Google Play Store. UGC has developed the Anti Ragging website i.e.  www.antiragging.in . The portal contains record of registered complaints received and the status of the action taken thereon. Secretary, UGC sends the circular twice a year regarding strict compliance of UGC Regulations on curbing the menace of ragging in  higher  educational  institutions.  From  time  to  time  the  UGC  issues  Public  Notice  in leading national newspapers to make awareness about the ragging.

(iii)  Counselors  are  engaged  in  Jawahar  Navodaya  Vidyalayas  (JNV)on  need  basis. Safety  and  security  guidelines  have  been  issued  and  updated  regularly.  Training  of Teachers  are  also  conducted  regularly  in  different  Institutes  like  National  Institute  of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences and Navodaya Leadership Institutes etc.

(iv) Counseling sessions are conducted by KVS for students by qualified counselors.

(v) CBSE has taken the following measures regarding counseling sessions in schools:

-  It  is  required  under  the  Affiliation  Bye-laws  of  CBSE  that  every  school  shall appoint  a  full  time  counselor  (Health  and  Wellness  Teacher).  If  number  of students is less than 300, the school could appoint the counselor on part-time basis.
-  CBSE vide its circular dated 8 th March, 2008, regarding 'Counseling in Schools' CBSE had inter alia reiterated that at secondary and senior secondary stages at least  twenty  sessions  of  psychological  counseling  must  be  provided  to  every

student in an academic session. Parents and teachers may also be involved in such session. Education in life skill can be given greater thrust in classes VI VIII to inculcate the desirable value system.

-  CBSE  also  provides  appropriate  counseling  services  to  both  students  and  the parents  through  a  helpline  programme  before  the  commencement  of  the examination  and  also  during  the  declaration  of  results.    The  Board  provides counseling  service  through  telephone,  IVRS,  leading  newspapers  and  online modes.

Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) vide its circular number 24, dated July  14,  2009  and  Circular  No.  Acad.  -  17/2015  dated  March  15,  2015  suggested measures to curb ragging and bullying in schools.  It has been unambiguously informed to  schools  that  in  case  of  default  on  directives,  they  will  be  penalized  severely  and stringent action to the extent of disaffiliation may be taken against them.  In all such cases it is the Head of the Organisation who will be held accountable.

CBSE has also taken a host of measures to reduce the stress caused by examination, some of them are as follows

-  Restructuring the question papers to reduce the number of questions based on memory  and  giving  15  minutes  of  additional  time  to  students,  during  Board examination,  for  reading  the  question  paper  before  they  begin  to  write  the answers.
-  The Board also publishes support materials such as sample question papers and marking schemes to familiarize the students with all aspects of examination.
-  Performance Analysis which is based on the actual answers given by students in class  X  &  XII  Board's  Examination  published  by  CBSE  also  help  students  and teachers to get an insight into the commonly occurring errors and shortcomings in the answers of candidates.

(vi)  The  Framework  for  Implementation  of  Rashtriya  Madhyamik  Shiksha  Abhiyan (RMSA) recognizes the role of guidance and counseling services in promoting student retention and better scholastic performance in curricular areas, facilitating adjustment and  career  development  of  students,  developing  right  attitude  towards  studies,  self, work and others.  The Framework provides that every school should have at least one teacher and preferably two teachers (one male and one female) trained in guidance and counseling.  The in-service teacher training under RMSA has incorporated a module on counseling.

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## Annexure - I

State-wise and year-wise Suicides case Report from 1 st  January 2014 to 26.07.2017

| S.No.   | State          |   2014 |   2015 |   2016 |   2017 |   Total |
|---------|----------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|---------|
| 1       | Andhra Pradesh |      0 |      1 |      1 |      0 |       2 |
| 2       | Assam          |      1 |      0 |      1 |      0 |       2 |
| 3       | Bihar          |      0 |      2 |      0 |      0 |       2 |
| 4       | Chhattisgarh   |      1 |      1 |      1 |      1 |       4 |
| 5       | Delhi          |      0 |      1 |      0 |      0 |       1 |
| 6       | Gujarat        |      0 |      1 |      0 |      1 |       2 |
| 7       | Haryana        |      1 |      0 |      0 |      0 |       1 |
| 8       | Jharkhand      |      0 |      1 |      0 |      0 |       1 |
| 9       | Karnataka      |      0 |      0 |      1 |      0 |       1 |
| 10      | Kerala         |      0 |      0 |      1 |      0 |       1 |
| 11      | Madhya Pradesh |      1 |     00 |      0 |      0 |       1 |
| 12      | Maharashtra    |      3 |      1 |      0 |      0 |       4 |
| 13      | Punjab         |      1 |      1 |      0 |      0 |       2 |
| 14      | Rajasthan      |      0 |      1 |      0 |      0 |       1 |
| 15      | Tamil Nadu     |      1 |      1 |      0 |      1 |       3 |
| 16      | Telangana      |      1 |      1 |      0 |      0 |       2 |
| 17      | Uttar Pradesh  |      1 |      1 |      0 |      1 |       3 |
| 18      | West Bengal    |      1 |      0 |      0 |      1 |       2 |
|         | Grand Total    |     12 |     13 |      5 |      5 |      35 |

| State            |   2014 |   2015 |   2016 |   2017 |
|------------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|
| Andhra Pradesh   |      1 |      1 |      2 |      0 |
| Himachal Pradesh |      1 |      1 |      0 |      0 |
| Maharashtra      |      1 |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| West Bengal      |      1 |      1 |      0 |      2 |
| Madhya Pradesh   |      2 |      1 |      1 |      1 |
| Karnataka        |      1 |      0 |      0 |      0 |
| Uttar Pradesh    |      0 |      1 |      2 |      0 |
| Jammu & Kashmir  |      0 |      1 |      0 |      0 |
| Assam            |      0 |      1 |      1 |      0 |
| Uttrakhand       |      0 |      0 |      1 |      1 |
| Rajasthan        |      0 |      0 |      1 |      0 |
| Odisha           |      0 |      0 |      3 |      0 |
| Gujarat          |      0 |      0 |      1 |      1 |
| Meghalaya        |      0 |      1 |      0 |      0 |
| Jharkhand        |      0 |      0 |      0 |      2 |
| Sikkim           |      0 |      0 |      0 |      1 |
| Telangana        |      0 |      0 |      0 |      1 |
| Haryana          |      0 |      0 |      0 |      1 |
| Chhattisgarh     |      0 |      0 |      0 |      1 |
| Total            |      7 |      8 |     12 |     11 |