New Delhi, About 15 per cent students in higher education institutions have experienced a period in the previous six months when they felt overwhelmed or distressed, while nine per cent reported experiencing suicidal thoughts, according to a nationwide survey conducted by the Supreme Court-appointed panel examining student suicides.
The survey findings assume significance in the wake of renewed debate on student suicides following death of two students at IIT Delhi and Bombay which have led to widespread outrage.
In addition to the student survey, the NTF conducted a series of institutional visits and stakeholder consultations. According to the student survey conducted by the NTF with responses from over 2.43 lakh students, 67 per cent of which belonged to SC, ST and OBC category, about The official, however, noted that emerging patterns suggest urgent action for standardized student support systems, implementation of measures such as faculty training, stigma-reduction, crisis SOPs, regular monitoring with quality-data and building responsive and transparent administration for addressing student mental health.
The SC-appointed panel had earlier this year submitted an interim report in which it had noted that the experience of higher education for students has been found to be marked by “deep-rooted social discrimination, rampant sexual harassment in medical and engineering colleges; gender discrimination by faculty in medical, law and state universities, in terms of academic support, hostel curfews and moral policing; caste identification by NEET-UG and JEE ranks; caste-based humiliation and discrimination in terms of admission, grading, language gaps and faculty attention”.
The NTF was constituted by the Supreme Court in March last year to address the rising incidence of student suicides and to examine mental health and well-being concerns among students in HEIs across the country.
