Lok Sabha Question No. 123 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-21
Subject: Increase in Student Suicide Rate
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Ms. Praniti Sushilkumar Shinde

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 123 ANSWERED ON 21/07/2025

## Increase in Student Suicide Rate

## 123. Ms. Praniti Sushilkumar Shinde:

Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state:

(a)  whether  the  rate  of  suicide  among  students  has  increased  a  lot  as  per  latest  National  Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Report, if so, the details thereof;

(b) the reasons due to which the Government failed to curb the increase in student suicides, despite its educational reforms and mental health initiatives;

(c) the details of the concrete steps taken by the Government to address the mental health crisis in schools, especially in States like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh, which account for one-third of student suicides;

(d) the reasons for not regulating coaching institutions in areas like Kota, where extreme academic pressure is pushing students to suicide; and

(e) the details of steps taken by the Government to override this situation?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## (Dr. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR)

(a)  to  (e):  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 and State wise details of student suicides are available in the ADSI reports which are accessible at https://ncrb.gov.in/accidental-deaths-suicides-in-india-yearwise.html. As per ADSI 2022 student suicide accounted for 7.6% of the total suicide cases compared to  8.0%  in  2021,  8.2%  in  2020.  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.

To  address  the  issue  of  suicide,  the  Government  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 that has been extending guidance to callers through trained counsellor; and 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  including  Maharashtra,  Tamil  Nadu  and  Madhya  Pradesh. These  sessions  are  telecast  on  PM  e-Vidya  channels  and  are  also  available  on  'NCERT  Official' YouTube Channel.

To  address  the  burden  of  mental  disorders,  the  Ministry  of  Health  and  Family  Welfare  is implementing the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) in the country. The District Mental Health Programme (DMHP) component of the NMHP has been sanctioned for implementation in 767 districts for which support is provided to States/UTs through the National Health Mission (NHM). One of the objectives of DMHP includes to provide suicide prevention services, work place stress management, life skills training and counselling in schools and colleges.

Ayushman  Bharat  School  Health  &  Wellness  Programme  under  NHM  incorporates  'Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health' as a dedicated module. Health and Wellness Ambassadors (Teachers) are trained on mental health along with other thematic areas of the programme to support and provide awareness to school children on mental health and well-being.

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 today, 36 States/ UTs have set up 53 Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States (MANAS) Cells. More than 23.80 lakhs calls have been handled on the helpline number. The Government has also launched Tele MANAS Mobile Application on the occasion of World Mental Health Day - October 10, 2024.

UGC issued  advisory  to  HEIs  on  06.01.2023  regarding  the  National  Suicide  Prevention  Strategy framed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. UGC has 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 on 10.07.2023 has also circulated a broad framework for emotional and mental wellbeing 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. Accordingly, IIT Madras, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Gandhinagar and IIT Roorkee have conducted workshops on Mental Wellness & Stress Management.

Department  of  Higher  Education  initiated  the  Integrated  approach  for  Promoting  Positive  Mental Health,  Resilience,  and  Wellbeing  under  the  Malaviya  Mission  Teacher  Training  Programme.  It comprises online and in-person sessions, visits to institutions with innovative mental health practices, and  an  Annual  National  Wellbeing  Conclave.  The  goal  is  to  empower  faculty  to  address  student mental health concerns for early intervention.

Guidelines  for  Regulation  of  Coaching  Centers  have  been  issued  by  Ministry  of  Education  to States/UTs on 16.01.2024 for consideration by way of appropriate legal framework. This has been followed up with another letter to the States/ UTs on 16.07.2024. The Guidelines encompass several key  aspects,  including  laying  emphasis  on  significance  of  mental  well-being,  advocating  for  the prioritization of counsellors and psychologists' support within coaching centres; no batch segregation; maintenance of records etc.

Moreover, education being in the concurrent list, Centre and States are equally responsible to address this issue.