Supreme Court is Strict on Student Safety in Educational Institutions, IITs, IIMs, and AIIMS Refused to Cooperate

The Supreme Court expressed deep concern over the rising number of student suicides in the country's leading educational institutions and ordered all institutions to cooperate with the survey.

The Supreme Court expressed deep displeasure over the rising number of student suicides in the country's leading educational institutions. The court stated that it is extremely worrying that over 57,000 educational institutions are not cooperating with the survey conducted by the Supreme Court-appointed committee. These institutions include premier institutions such as IITs, IIMs, AIIMS, and NITs.

Since 2018, approximately 98 students have taken their own lives. Of these, 39 students are from IITs, 25 NITs, 25 central universities, and 4 IIMs. However, the apathy of educational institutions toward this serious problem has disappointed the Supreme Court. The high-level panel, formed on the court's instructions, has received responses from only 3,500 institutions, while 57,000 institutions have not cooperated.

According to media reports, the Supreme Court bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan expressed deep concern over the matter. Senior advocate and amicus curiae Aparna Bhat stated that several prominent institutions, including 17 IITs, 15 IIMs, 16 AIIMS, and 24 NITs, did not participate in the survey despite four reminders. The survey is being conducted to identify the causes and solutions to the rising number of student suicides.

Court did not receive a concrete response

The Supreme Court stated that this entire exercise is being conducted in the best interests of students and that all institutions are expected to cooperate fully with the survey so that the National Task Force can prepare its interim or final report. The bench also noted that the central government had issued instructions to these institutions four times, but had not received any concrete response.

Court issued strict instructions

The court directed the central government to take this issue seriously and once again ask all institutions to cooperate with the survey. The Supreme Court clarified that if institutions do not cooperate, they may be forced to pass orders that could damage their reputation.

Task Force Formed

The Supreme Court has formed a multi-task force in this matter, headed by retired judge Ravindra Bhat. This panel includes experts in psychiatry, psychology, and other fields. The panel's task is to identify various causes of student suicide and suggest solutions. These include ragging, caste discrimination, gender-based discrimination, sexual harassment, academic pressure, financial burden, mental health stigma, race, tribal identity, disability, sexual orientation, political views, and religious beliefs.