Lok Sabha Question No. 4244 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-27
Subject: Suicide Committed by Students
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Kuruva Gorantla Madhav

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4244

ANSWERED ON 27/03/2023

## Suicide Committed by Students

## 4244. Shri Kuruva Gorantla Madhav:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a) whether the suicide cases among students have increased in the country;

(b) if so, the details thereof along with the number of such cases reported in the country during the last five years; and

(c) the steps taken or proposed to be taken by the Government to prevent tendency of suicides among students and for provision of psychological support to students?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUBHAS SARKAR)

(a) and (b)      Education being a concurrent list subject, Educational Institutions are managed by both Central  and  State  Government.  Majority  of  the  Educational  Institutions  in  the  country  falls  in  the purview  of  the  State  /  UT  Government.  The  number  of  suicide  cases  of  students  of  all  these institutions across the country are not maintained. However, 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.

(c)    National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 provides for counselling systems for handling stress and emotional adjustments in Institutions. It also provisions for opportunities for students participation 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, UGC had issued advisories to Higher Educational  Institutions  (HEIs)  on  05.04.2020.UGC  has  also  issued  Guidelines  for  Promotion  of Physical  Fitness,  Sports,  Student's  Health,  Welfare,  Psychological  and  Emotional  Well-  being  at HEIs  on  06.05.2022.    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.

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.

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