Why does it take a suicide by a teenage girl and an order from the Supreme Court to safeguard mental health of students competing under inhuman stress to succeed in entrance exams – something the Government and society should have done in their common sense?
This was a disturbing question raised in Supreme Court hearing a case of a 17-year old girl who committed suicide while preparing for NEET examinations in her rented accommodation away from home.
Seeking a CBI inquiry, her father told court that someone had called him saying his daughter was very ill and he found she was on a ventilator. On 16 July 2023, she died. Suspecting foul play during her medical treatment and aggrieved by the authorities’ unwillingness to properly, he approached the Andhra Pradesh High Court seeking transfer of case to CBI but was denied. Then he knocked the doors of SC.
SC while striking down Andha HC order, ordered CBI inquiry and issued detailed guidelines with several directions to prevent students from committing suicide under exam stress..
SC also directed the Cenre to file a compliance affidavit within 90 days. The affidavit shall detail the steps taken to implement these guidelines, the coordination mechanisms established with State Governments, the status of regulatory rulemaking with respect to coaching centres, and the monitoring systems put in place. The top court said the guidelines will remain in force and be binding till a law or rules are enacted by the competent authority.
SC said the guidelines shall apply to all educational institutions across India, including public and private schools, colleges, universities, training centres, ccoaching institutes, residential academies, and hostels, irrespective of their affiliation.
“We may clarify that these guidelines are not in supersession but in parallel to the ongoing work of the National Task Force on Mental Health Concerns of Students and are being issued to provide an interim protective architecture,” SC said.
| SC Guidelines for Preventing Suicide among Students |
| I. All educational institutions shall adopt and implement a uniform mental health policy, drawing cues from the “Ummeed” Draft Guidelines, the “Manodarpan” initiative, and the National Suicide Prevention Strategy. This policy shall be reviewed and updated annually and made publicly accessible on institutional websites and notice boards of the institutes. II. All educational institutions with 100 or more enrolled students shall appoint/engage at least one qualified counsellor, psychologist, or social worker with demonstrable training in child and adolescent mental health. Institutions with fewer students shall establish formal referral linkages with external mental health professionals. III. All educational institutions shall ensure optimal student-to-counsellor ratios. 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. IV. All educational institutions, more particularly the coaching institutes/centres, shall, as far as possible, refrain from engaging in batch segregation based on academic performance, public shaming, or assignment of academic targets disproportionate to students’ capacities. V. 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. VI. 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. VII. All educational institutions shall ensure that all teaching, non-teaching, and administrative staff are adequately trained to engage with students from vulnerable and marginalised backgrounds in a sensitive, inclusive, and non-discriminatory manner. This shall include, but not be limited to, students belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), LGBTQ+ communities, students with disabilities, those in out-of-home care, and students affected by bereavement, trauma, or prior suicide attempts, or intersecting form of marginalisation. VIII. All educational institutions shall establish robust, confidential, and accessible mechanisms for the reporting, redressal, and prevention of incidents involving sexual assault, harassment, ragging, and bullying on the basis of caste, class, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, or ethnicity. Every such institution shall constitute an internal committee or designated authority empowered to take immediate action on complaints and provide psycho-social support to victims. Institutions shall also maintain zero tolerance for retaliatory actions against complainants or whistle-blowers. In all such cases, immediate referral to trained mental health professionals must be ensured, and the student’s safety, physical and psychological, shall be prioritised. Failure to take timely or adequate action in such cases, especially where such neglect contributes to a studentâs self-harm or suicide, shall be treated as institutional culpability, making the administration liable to regulatory and legal consequences. IX. All educational Institutions shall regularly organise sensitisation programmes (physical and/or online) for parents and guardians on student mental health. It shall be the duty of the institution to sensitise the parents and guardians to avoid placing undue academic pressure, to recognise signs of psychological distress, and to respond empathetically and supportively. Further, mental health literacy, emotional regulation, life skills education, and awareness of institutional support services shall be integrated into student orientation programmes and co-curricular activities. X. All educational institutions shall maintain anonymised records and prepare an annual report indicating the number of wellness interventions, student referrals, training sessions, and mental health-related activities. XI. All educational institutions shall prioritise extracurricular activities, including sports, arts, and personality development initiatives. Examinationpatterns shall be periodically reviewed to reduce academic burden and to cultivate a broader sense of identity among students beyond test scores and ranks. XII. All educational institutions, including coaching centres and training institutes, shall provide regular, structured career counselling services for students and their parents or guardians. These sessions shall be conducted by qualified counsellors and shall aim to reduce unrealistic academic pressure, promote awareness of diverse academic and professional pathways, and assist students in making informed and interest-based career decisions. Institutions shall ensure that such counselling is inclusive, sensitive to socio-economic and psychological contexts, and does not reinforce narrow definitions of merit or success. XIII. All residential-based educational institutions, including hostel owners, wardens and caretakers, shall take proactive steps to ensure that campuses remain free from harassment, bullying, drugs, and other harmful substances, thereby ensuring a safe and healthy living and learning environment for all students. XIV. All residential-based institutions shall install tamper-proof ceiling fans or equivalent safety devices, and shall restrict access to rooftops, balconies, and other high-risk areas, in order to deter impulsive acts of self-harm. XV. All coaching hubs, including but not limited to Jaipur, Kota, Sikar, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, and other cities where students migrate in large numbers for competitive examination preparation, shall implement heightened mental health protections and preventive measures. These regions, having witnessed disproportionately high incidents of student suicides, require special attention. The concerned authorities, namely, the Department of Education, District Administration, and management of educational institutions, shall ensure the provision of regular career counselling for students and parents, regulation of academic pressure through structured academic planning, availability of continuous psychological support, and the establishment of institutional mechanisms for monitoring and accountability to safeguard student mental well-being. [Verbatim, edited minimally for clarity] |
