As many as 122 medical students died by suicide in the last five years till December 2023, out of which, Karnataka has the highest count with 16 suicides. This was revealed by the National Medical Commission (NMC) in response to a Right to Information (RTI) plea.
The data shows that out of the 122 students who died by suicide between 2018 and 2023 in medical colleges across India, 64 students were pursuing MBBS while 58 were postgraduate medical students.
The RTI plea was filed by health activist Dr Vivek Pandey on January 4, 2024.
Karnataka witnessed the highest number of suicides in medical colleges with 11 postgraduate and five MBBS students. Karnataka was followed by Maharashtra with 14 student suicides (11 PG and five MBBS) and Gujarat also recorded 14 deaths by suicide (nine PG and five MBBS).
Kerala recorded the highest number of suicides among MBBS students with nine deaths in the past five years.
The concerns related to a high number of student suicides in medical colleges across India have been highlighted by students, associations and activists several times in the recent past.
To recall, the NMC recently constituted a national task force to analyse factors contributing to increasing student suicides and propose evidence-based strategies for improving mental health.
State | No. of suicide cases (MBBS) | No. of suicide cases (PG) | Total |
Andhra Pradesh | 5 | 1 | 6 |
Bihar | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Chattisgarh | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Delhi | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Gujarat | 5 | 9 | 14 |
Haryana | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Himachal Pradesh | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Jammu and Kashmir | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Jharkhand | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Karnataka | 5 | 11 | 16 |
Kerala | 9 | 1 | 10 |
Madhya Pradesh | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Maharashtra | 3 | 11 | 14 |
Mizoram | 4 | 0 | 4 |
Odisha | 3 | 1 | 4 |
Pondicherry | 3 | 4 | 7 |
Rajasthan | 5 | 6 | 11 |
Sikkim | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Tamil Nadu | 8 | 1 | 9 |
Telangana | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Uttar Pradesh | 4 | 5 | 9 |
Uttarakhand | 0 | 1 | 1 |
West Bengal | 3 | 0 | 3 |
Total | 64 | 58 | 122 |