BJP MP raises concerns over spike in cases of student suicide
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Modi said the high number of suicides reflected harsh conditions that students have to go through to secure admissions in premier colleges
New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Modi on Tuesday raised concerns over increasing cases of suicides among students, especially those preparing for medical and engineering entrance examinations.
The lawmaker from Bihar, in a special mention in the Upper House, said the high number of suicides reflected harsh conditions that students have to go through to secure admissions in premier colleges, such as Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
“In 2021, there were 10,732 suicide cases of students below the age of 18 years. It depicted an increase of 4.5% from the previous year. In the last five years, 75 students committed suicide in IIT, IIM [Indian Institute of Management], AIIMS, and other top premier institutions,” he told the Rajya Sabha. “These cases have been increasing at a concerning rate.”
In Kota, the coaching hub in Rajasthan, police have reported more than 15 suicides, he said.
“The high number of suicides reflects the severe mental and physical stress the students go through to secure college admissions in premier universities,” the BJP leader said. “The students face severe academic stress and develop mental health issues because of the intensive competition in the medical and engineering examinations.”
The lawmaker further said that factors like low self-esteem due to poor scores in examinations at the coaching centres, pressures of parental expectations, financial constraints, and the stigma around poor performance contribute to the students constantly deteriorating mental health.
Emphasising the consequences of high academic pressure, Modi suggested that the government develop a comprehensive suicide prevention mechanism and implement the same in mission mode to harness the results at the earliest.
“The government should take a proactive initiative to enhance mental health support within coaching institutes, schools, and universities,” he said. “The number of councillors available should be increased, and a mechanism should be developed to communicate openly between the students and the councillors.”