SC-constituted National Task Force launches portal to address student suicides

The National Task Force (NTF) on the Mental Health Concerns of Students and the Prevention of Suicides in Higher Educational Institutions appointed by the Supreme Court has launched its portal to gather inputs from various stakeholders.

The taskforce is also visiting various institutions of higher education across the country to gather views and suggestions. The institutional visits involve interactions with various stakeholders such as students, faculty members, administrators, and members of various committees tasked with grievance redressal.

In its judgment on March 24 this year, the Supreme Court acknowledged the rising incidence of suicides among students in universities and professional colleges, including institutions of national importance. The Court constituted a National Task Force under the former Supreme Court judge S. Ravindra Bhat.

The interim report of the task force will be submitted to the Court in September.

The remit of the task force is to prepare a comprehensive report that includes identification of the predominant causes which lead to suicides by students. However, these will not be limited to ragging, discrimination, academic pressure, financial burden and mental health related stigma. It will also analyse existing regulations to assess the institutional and systemic failures that may impact student wellbeing.

“What troubled the Court was that there is an increase in the cases of suicide and suicide attempts by students in higher educational institutions. As we have a large country with over 52,000 institutions, we will try to visit not only large cities but also smaller places,” Bhat said.

Dr Vineet Joshi, Secretary, Department of Higher Education and Ex-officio Member and Member Secretary of the task force, said the department is committed to ensure that not a single life is lost.

“Every institution has its own context, so identifying the causes and suggesting recommendations is going to be an extremely challenging task, and this task force is completely committed to that. The task force will consult experts and hold discussions as to how to go about it, and different reports which are already available with us will also be taken into consideration,” Joshi said.

Last month, the Supreme Court issued comprehensive guidelines to protect the mental health of students in schools, colleges, and coaching centres.

Responding to a question, Bhat said, “The Supreme Court guidelines will also be factored. The NTF report will not be superseding the Court’s guidelines. We will be focusing on the causes behind the suicide.”