Union Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar, in response to a written question in the Rajya Sabha, informed that as many as 98 students, studying at higher education institutions (HEIs) run by the central government, have died by suicide in the last five years. He added that the maximum number of suicides reported in the last four years were from Engineering.
According to the information shared by the Ministry of Education (MoE), between 2019 and 2023, about 32,000 students studying at institutions like central universities, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs) across the country, have left their studies midway. It was further revealed that IITs had the highest number of suicides (39), followed by NITs (25), central universities (25), IIMs (four), Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) (three), and International Institute of Information Technology (IIITs) (two), as mentioned in a report by IANS.
So far, in 2023, 20 incidents of suicide by students have been reported in these HEIs. Of them, nine incidents were reported from central universities while seven were from IITs. Meanwhile, 24 such incidents were reported in 2022, seven each in 2021 and 2020, 19 in 2019 and 21 in 2018.
The data also showed that two students from the Scheduled Caste (SC) and one from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) categories were among the seven suicide cases at IITs this year. On the other hand, six of the nine cases in central universities included members of the Scheduled Tribe (ST), SC, OBC, or minority communities, as per IANS.
“In order to alleviate academic stress, the ministry has taken various steps such as peer-assisted learning and the introduction of technical education in regional languages for students,” the minister informed the House. Promoting courses in regional languages, the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has released the complete syllabus of 12 different technical courses in regional languages as. well, he added.
