SC issues pan-India guidelines to prevent student suicides: 'Continued loss of young lives ...'

Supreme Court

The continued loss of young lives by way of suicides due to various reasons reflects 'a systemic failure', the Supreme Court said noting that the issue "cannot be ignored".

A two-judge SC bench passed a slew of pan-India guidelines to deal with the issue including appointment of mentors or counsellors and mandatory training for teaching and non-teaching staff.

"Dedicated mentors or counsellors shall be assigned to smaller batches of students, especially during examination periods and academic transitions, to provide consistent, informal, and confidential support," the bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta.

Citing the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) statistics published in 2022 titled "Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India", the top court said it painted a "deeply distressing picture".

"The continued loss of young lives, often due to preventable causes rooted in unattended psychological distress, academic overburden, social stigma, and institutional insensitivity, reflect a systemic failure that cannot be ignored," it said.

India recorded 1,70,924 reported suicide cases in 2022, of which 7.6 per cent, approximately 13,044, were student suicides. The bench said notably, 2,248 of these deaths were attributed directly to failure in examinations.

The bench said all educational institutions shall establish written protocols for immediate referral to mental health services, local hospitals, and suicide prevention helplines.

"Suicide helpline numbers, including Tele-MANAS and other national services, shall be prominently displayed in hostels, classrooms, common areas, and on websites in large and legible print," it said.

Suicides among students in the last two decades increased from 5,425 in 2001 to 13,044 in 2022, the NCRB data reflected. "Considering....situation of an increasing number of suicides in educational institutions, inter alia, including schools, coaching institutes, colleges, and training centres, we feel obliged to acknowledge and address the gravity of the mental health crisis afflicting students in educational institutions across the country," the bench said.

It added that all teaching and non-teaching staff shall undergo mandatory training at least twice a year, conducted by certified mental health professionals, on psychological first-aid, identification of warning signs, response to self-harm, and referral mechanisms.