Dharmendra Pradhan reviews measures for mental wellness of students in educational institutions

The Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, has instructed officials to develop a framework to protect the mental and emotional wellbeing of students at all levels of education. The directive was issued during a meeting on the mental wellness of students, which highlighted the need to adopt zero tolerance towards discrimination in educational institutions. The meeting was attended by senior officials from the school and higher education departments, CBSE, AICTE, and UGC.

The framework will provide comprehensive protection to students from physical, social, discriminatory, cultural, and linguistic threats that may cause psychological distress and self-destructive tendencies. This move comes in the wake of several student suicides in Indian higher educational institutions, including the recent suicide of a B Tech student at IIT Madras.

According to data presented in the Parliament by the Ministry of Education, 33 students have died by suicide across the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) since 2018. The IITs accounted for more than half of these suicides, followed by the NITs and IIMs. The reasons for such cases include academic stress, family reasons, personal reasons, and mental health issues.

The proposed framework will create an inclusive, integrative, and non-discriminatory environment in educational institutions. The Education Minister has also called for suggestions from all stakeholders through online media on various subjects such as gender equality, caste sensitivity, academic pressure, and a robust system of counseling. The Ministry of Education has affirmed that the framework will institutionalize safeguards and mechanisms to protect students' mental and emotional wellbeing.