What happened
The National Task Force on Mental Health of Students and Prevention of Suicides in Higher Education Institutions has carried out field visits to 30 higher education institutions across 10 States since May 2025. The Task Force has also held 25 stakeholder consultations to widen its understanding of campus stress, discrimination, and suicide risk.
The Ministry of Education said the Task Force has also completed additional consultations since January 2026 on disability, caste discrimination, gender, mental health and suicides, students from Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Class communities, decriminalization of suicide, the gender question in student suicides, non-governmental organisations working on mental health, and law students.
Why the issue matters
Student mental health in higher education institutions is a governance and social-justice issue, not only a counselling issue. The consultation themes show that student distress can be linked to discrimination, exclusion, identity-based vulnerabilities, and institutional climate, which makes prevention a campus-level responsibility as well as a health-policy concern.
Background and earlier position
Related current affairs
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