Rising student suicides in India is a critical issue that finds little mention and discussion amongst policymakers. The actual number now surpasses farmer suicides, with a four percent rise in 2024 alone.
Key causes include academic pressure, caste discrimination, financial stress, and sexual harassment, with IITs and NITs reporting high rates linked to exam failures. While male suicides have slightly declined in reported numbers, female suicides are on the rise, with LGBTQ and marginalised students facing heightened challenges amidst worsening the mental health crisis among the youth.
It’s a crisis of unimaginable proportions reflecting a collective failure in the state-society compact without any clear, formulaic answers.
Our InfoSphere team, as part of a Centre for New Economics Studies initiative, delves deeper into the alarming data made available on student suicides in India.
The first part analyses institution-wise trends, while the second part shifts to state-wise data, highlighting regional variations and focusing on Tamil Nadu and New Delhi as case studies. We seek to explore why these regions, due to also better reporting mechanisms, have observed higher suicide rates.
As per the 2022 statistics, student suicides comprise 10 percent of the total suicide rate in India. To provide a better context for the numbers, student suicides have increased from 6,654 to 13,044 in the last decade, overtaking the population growth of individuals in the age bracket 0-24, which fell from 582 million to 581 million.
The statistic in educational institutions is particularly alarming, where examination-failure-related suicides continue to be the main reported cause. According to the Union Ministry of Education, 98 students studying in higher education institutions like the central universities, IITs, IIMs, NITs and IISERs, died by suicide in the past five years (2019-2023).
It is to be noted that of the suicide cases reported, a majority are from engineering institutions. According to the data, out of the 98 students who died by suicide, 39 were from IITs, followed by 25 from NITs, 25 from central universities, four from IIMs and two from IIITs.
Suicide cases peaked in IITs in 2022 with nine cases and NITs showed a peak in 2019 with eight reported cases. AIIMs has consistently had three to four suicide cases from 2020-2023.
Students die by suicide not only when they fail to enter their dream college but also after achieving that goal. This shows a critical need for reforms to support students and prevent such tragic outcomes. It is not just the education system that needs a change but the mindset of the families and the society at large.
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Student Suicides and Gender Representation in Data
Notably, between 2021 and 2022, male student suicides decreased by six percent and female student suicides increased by seven percent. The contrasting trends in male and female student suicides between 2021 and 2022 could be due to several socio-psychological factors.
The pandemic years placed immense academic and emotional pressure on students, particularly female students, who often face additional challenges such as gender-based expectations, societal pressures, and balancing domestic responsibilities with studies.
For males, the slight decrease might reflect a growing openness in seeking mental health support, breaking the stigma traditionally associated with men discussing mental health issues.
In India, LGBTQ students face high suicide rates due to societal conservatism and discriminatory laws. Despite the 2018 decriminalisation of homosexuality, acceptance remains limited, especially in conservative families.
Many LGBTQ students experience bullying, harassment, and isolation in schools, with little institutional support. The pressure to conform to traditional gender norms and family rejection further heighten their psychological stress, contributing to higher suicide rates.
Understanding Caste, Economic, and Sexual Harassment Pressures
Student suicides in India often stem from three interconnected pressures: caste discrimination, economic stress, and sexual harassment.
Caste discrimination significantly affects marginalised students, especially those from rural areas, who struggle to adapt to urban academic environments. Students entering elite institutions like IITs, IIMs, and central universities face cultural isolation, language barriers, and prejudice due to reservations, intensifying their challenges.
The case of Rohith Vemula, a Dalit PhD scholar, brought national attention to caste-based discrimination. Vemula’s suicide was the result of systemic neglect and social ostracisation within the University of Hyderabad.
His story isn't isolated an isolated one. Dalit students across institutions have faced a lack of guidance and social exclusion due to caste biases. Institutions such as IITs often impose remedial language programs on marginalised students, implicitly questioning their capabilities and perpetuating discrimination.
These practices exist against the backdrop of India’s urban-rural divide, where urban elite institutions are perceived as inaccessible to rural, lower-caste students, and consequently, economic stress acts as a silent yet powerful force, driving many students to despair.
Carrying the weight of their families’ hopes, they often take on substantial debt to afford their education. But what happens when that promise becomes a financial trap? Over half of high-debt borrowers experience depression because of their loans, and 9 in 10 struggle with severe anxiety. The burden can feel relentless, with 1 in 15 borrowers considering suicide as a way out. The weight of debt, family expectations, and an unstable job market can make the very goal of education feel like an unbearable burden.
Additionally, sexual harassment and abuse within educational institutions contribute significantly to the mental health crisis among students, creating an environment of fear and hopelessness. Often, these cases go unreported, especially when the perpetrator is a faculty member, i.e., in a position of power.
This silence is further amplified by the absence of proper complaint mechanisms and unresponsive institutional policies, which offer lip service and serve no one.
The patriarchal norms of Indian society further discourage women from speaking up on unjustifiable and illegitimate violations committed by the opposite gender. The cultural stigma surrounding such harassment paired with utter insensitivity further leads to feelings of guilt, shame, and isolation.
When these problems persist across all settings from high-ranking universities to private and public schools in both urban and rural areas, the experience of victims in conservative families becomes even more monstrous. This isolation often turns out to be deadly, leaving victims feeling trapped and hopeless, sometimes driving them to the tragic choice of ending their lives.
(Deepanshu Mohan is a Professor of Economics, Dean, IDEAS, Office of Inter-Disciplinary Studies, and Director of Centre for New Economics Studies (CNES), OP Jindal Global University. He is a Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics, and a 2024 Fall Academic Visitor to the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford. Ankur Singh, Bhanavi Behl, Niharika Amte and Theresa Jose are Research Assistants with CNES and Members of the CNES InfoSphere Team. This is an opinion article and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)
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