IIT Student Commits Suicide

The Supreme Court on Monday raised questions over the instances of suicides particularly at IIT Kharagpur besides Sharda University in Greater Noida directing the investigation in both cases to "proceed expeditiously". A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan has been hearing a matter over suicide deaths at educational institutions. On the incident over the suicide of a fourth year mechanical engineering student, the bench asked the IIT Kharagpur counsel, "What is wrong with your IIT Kharagpur? Why students are committing suicide? Have you given a thought to this problem? What steps have you taken?" After dealing with a similar incident at Sharda University involving a female student, the bench ordered, "Let the investigation in both the incidents proceed further expeditiously in accordance with law and in the right direction." Senior advocate Aparna Bhat, who is assisting the top court as an amicus curiae, apprised the bench about the status of investigations in both ...

The Supreme Court on Monday said the "relentless pressure" to perform in a purely score-based education system and the "extreme competition" for limited seats in premier educational institutions put a "terrifying burden" on students' mental health. A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan was cognisant of the rising incidents of student suicides on college campuses and in higher educational institutions when it said it was high time to formulate comprehensive guidelines to mitigate the underlying causes contributing to such students' distress. "Universities must acknowledge their role not just as centres of learning but as institutions responsible for the well-being and holistic development of their students," the bench said. The court went on, "The failure to do so would mean failing the very purpose of education to uplift, empower, and transform lives." The bench constituted a National Task Force (NTF) to address the mental health concerns of students and prevent incide

Despite 26 cases of suicide by coaching students in 2023, the highest in a year, Kota still faces a shortage of clinical psychologists to deal with mental health issues of about 2.50 lakh coaching students preparing for various entrance exams away from their homes. The Psychological counselling Centre, set up in September this year in the New Medical College Hospital in Kota in compliance with the state government's budget announcement, has no clinical psychologist. There is only one clinical psychologist appointed at the NMCH against the demand of at least five, and it lacks an adequate number of trained staff. Non-availability of M Phil in clinical psychology in medical colleges of the state has further aggravated the issue as those serving in government medical colleges in the state are the degree holders from other states and are short against the demand. Dr Vinod Kumar Daria, professor (MD), the Department of Psychology at the New Medical College Hospital told PTI that he chalk

Singh, who hailed from Ferozabad, was staying at a hostel on IIT campus, the SSP said