The minister informed the Lok Sabha that the Central government and the University Grants Commission (UGC) have taken several initiatives to check the incidents of harassment and discrimination among students.
24 students committed suicide in central universities since 2017: Minister informs Lok Sabha
Union Minister of State for Education Rajkumar Ranjan Singh informed the Lok Sabha that as many as 24 students of Central Universities have committed suicide since 2017. The minister also said the Central government and the University Grants Commission (UGC) have taken several initiatives to check the incidents of harassment and discrimination among students.
The Minister during Question Hour said, "The UGC has informed that the central universities under its purview have reported 24 suicide cases of students from the year 2017 to 2022. The reasons for suicide by students are not maintained." Singh said the UGC has further informed that two suicide cases of students have been reported by Teerthanker Mahaveer University, Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, in November 2018 and October 2021. The said university is a state-private university.
"The University Grants Commission (Redressal of Grievances of Students) Regulations, 2019 have been formulated to safeguard the interests of the students. The UGC has also notified UGC Regulations on Curbing the Menace of Ragging in Higher Educational Institutions, 2009 and issued circulars for strict compliance of the Regulations," he said, as reported by PTI.
Singh also informed that the Ministry has undertaken several steps such as peer-assisted learning, and the introduction of technical education in regional languages for students in order to ease the academic stress. He said the Central government initiative, named MANODARPAN, covers a wide range of activities to provide psychological support to students, teachers and families for mental and emotional well-being during the COVID-19 outbreak and beyond.
In addition, the Union minister said, institutions conduct workshops and seminars on happiness and wellness, regular sessions on yoga, induction programs, extracurricular activities including sports and cultural activities and appointment of student counselors for overall personality development and de-stressing students.
Also, students, wardens and caretakers are sensitised to bring to notice the signs of depression in fellow students to the authorities so that timely clinical consultation may be provided, he informed Lok Sabha.
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