98 higher education institute students have died by suicide in the last 5 years, 64 from NITs and IITs

V Sivadasan, MP ( Member of Parliament) from the CPI-M ( Communist Party of India- Marxist) had asked a question pertaining to the data with regard to student suicides in the parliament. Union Minister of State for Education, Subhas Sarkar, responded to this by giving a detailed breakdown of student suicides across higher education institutes over the last 5 years. IITs ( Indian Institute of Technology) accounted for 39 of the suicides, and NITs (National Institute of Technology) accounted for 25 of the suicides. Central Universities falling under the ambit of UGC (University Grants Commission) were also witness to 25 suicides. IIMs (Indian Institute of Management), IISERs (Indian Institute of Scientific Education and Research) and IIITs (International Institute of Information Technology) together recorded 9 instances of suicide. 

A Shridhara, psychologist based in Bangalore spoke to NewsFirst Prime with regard to this concerning trend. “Suicide is a very personal issue but there are always external pressures or stress causing factors which are at play. An individual at that state is observed to be frustrated and conflicted. Clarity of goal and problem solving ability gets affected at such times. The students would not have the appropriate coping mechanism, support system, or the appropriate timely remedial system in place to deal with the situation.”