Mumbai: Maharashtra along with Tamil Nadu, and Madhya Pradesh have the highest student suicide rates in India, collectively accounting for one-third of the cases nationwide, according to a recent report from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
The report said India is facing an alarming rise in student suicides, with rates increasing faster than both the population growth and overall suicide trends. Titled “Student Suicides: An Epidemic Sweeping India,” the report was unveiled at the Annual IC3 Conference and Expo 2024.
“Over the past two decades, student suicides have grown at an alarming 4% annually, double the national average for overall suicides,” the report highlights. Out of these, “male students accounted for 53% of total student suicides. However, between 2021 and 2022, male suicides decreased by 6%, while female suicides surged by 7%,” the report added.
These rising numbers are even though the youth population in the country is declining. According to the report, while the population of 0-24-year-olds slightly decreased from 582 million to 581 million over the past decade, student suicides nearly doubled, from 6,654 to 13,044.
“I think this is the post-Covid effect. In the last two years, my students' stress-related complaints have increased. During Covid they did not have any social exposure and were not trained properly on how to deal with it,” said Rajendra Shinde, the principal of St Xaviers College in Mumbai.
He said, “Awareness is the only key for parents or students. The schools and colleges can organise seminars and prompt parent intervention as soon as they know about the students’ state of mind,” Shinde added.
“Mental pressure to qualify and score well is increasing, and that is a fundamental factor,” said Anupam, a youth activist who is the founder of ‘Yuva Halla Bol’, a national youth movement against unemployment.
“These suicide numbers are increasing largely due to the lack of opportunities available to the youth. They are unable to find dignified and desirable jobs, which adds to the pressure. Economic distress, which fails to generate new jobs, is a leading factor,” he added.
Anupam further added that these numbers will further increase if the age bracket is increased. “If you look at the youth aged between 18 to 35, the numbers will rise.
“The main reason behind it is academic pressure that originates from the immense level of competition,” said Dayal Mirchandani, a psychiatrist based in Pune. “The competition has been created by us as a society. The expectation is not of getting good passing marks, the expectation is to get the first rank,” he added.
Despite the decriminalisation of suicide attempts under the 2017 Mental Healthcare Act, challenges in data collection – especially in rural areas – continue to hinder accurate reporting. This, coupled with the stigma around mental health, suggests the actual figures could be even higher.
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