About 24 cases of suicides by students of central universities in 5 years: Gov't tells Lok Sabha

The Central Government initiative, MANODARPAN, covers a wide range of activities to provide psychological support to students, teachers and families
Image for representation | Pic: PTI
Image for representation | Pic: PTI

As many as 24 cases of suicides by students of central universities were reported since 2017, Union Minister of State for Education Rajkumar Ranjan Singh said in the Lok Sabha on Monday, April 4. The minister also said the Central Government and the University Grants Commission (UGC) have taken several initiatives to check the incidents of harassment and discrimination of students.

"The UGC has informed that the central universities under its purview have reported 24 suicide cases of students from the year 2017 to 2022. The reasons for suicide by the students are not maintained," he said during the Question Hour. Singh said the UGC has further informed that two suicide cases of students have been reported by Teerthanker Mahaveer University, Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, in November 2018 and October 2021. The said university is a state private university.

"The University Grants Commission (Redressal of Grievances of Students) Regulations, 2019 have been formulated to safeguard the interests of the students. The UGC has also notified UGC Regulations on Curbing the Menace of Ragging in Higher Educational Institutions, 2009, and issued circulars for strict compliance of the Regulations," he said as per a PTI report.

Further, Singh said, 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. He said the Central Government initiative, 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-19 outbreak and beyond.

In addition, the minister said, institutions conduct workshops and seminars on happiness and wellness, regular sessions on yoga, induction programmes, extracurricular activities including sports and cultural activities and appointment of student counsellors for overall personality development and de-stressing students. Further, students, wardens and caretakers are sensitised to bring to notice the signs of depression in fellow students to the authorities so that timely clinical consultation may be provided, he said. 

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