There is an issue with the accessibility of mental health support, where calls to national hotlines may face long waiting times or no callback, which is particularly difficult for students who have already overcome the barrier to seeking support.
The situation regarding student suicides in India remains a serious problem, continuing since 2026, with cases occurring both in IIT campuses and educational centers like Kota. As part of World Suicide Prevention Day, the theme 'Changing the Narrative on Suicide' again calls on people in crisis to talk about their problems and seek support, but the question arises about what happens after a person has sought help.
How Serious is the Crisis of Student Suicides in India?
The University Grants Commission (UGC) committee used terms such as 'serious lapses' and 'gross negligence' when investigating the incident at Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Odisha. This college was reviewing complaints from a 20-year-old B.Ed student who reported alleged sexual harassment by the head of the department before dying by self-immolation on campus grounds in July 2025. The committee also noted that the response to her complaints was marked by 'insensitivity.'
In Keet in Bhubaneswar, a 20-year-old Nepali student, Prakriti Lamsal, reported harassment, after which she was found dead in the hostel in February 2025. Later, the UGC committee ruled that the university failed to take legal action in response to her complaints and concluded that the tragedy 'could have been prevented.'
In Dharamshala, the father of a 19-year-old student warned the college administration that she was being 'bullied and intimidated' and was in 'complete depression'; following her death, the UGC investigation found that 'no one contacted the student or her family.'
Clinical psychologist Apurva Krishnan, co-founder of Oorvai Wellness, asserts that 'suicidal ideation is a signal of significant psychological distress, not something to be ignored or moralized.' He emphasizes the importance of understanding the immediacy and severity of the risk.
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), which collects official suicide statistics in India, recorded another rise in student suicides in 2024, continuing a decade-long upward trend, although this data does not allow determination of whether the student sought help before death.
The number of student suicides in India increased by 4.3 percent in 2024.
Are Indian Institutions Failing Students in Crisis?
The question arises whether Indian institutions are failing students in crisis. What happens if an institution has identified a student as vulnerable, but the hostel warden responsible for their daily life is unaware of it? The National Task Force (NTF), appointed by the Supreme Court to address student mental health issues and prevent suicide, encountered exactly such a situation during one of its field inspections. The student was identified as vulnerable, but this information did not reach the hostel warden.
The NTF analyzed 31 centrally funded institutions, including 23 IITs and four IIMs, of which only 18 reported having at least one mental health specialist. In some institutions, trained mental health professionals were included alongside faculty mentors or peer counselors, meaning that individuals included in the broad category of 'support' could have very different duties and levels of qualification. For a student experiencing severe psychological stress, these differences determine who can recognize the level of risk and what will happen after it is detected.
According to Krishnan, 'the most important thing is for the institution to have a clear response plan before a crisis occurs.' He adds that one cannot expect an individual faculty member or counselor to know what to do in a critical moment. This problem becomes especially acute when an institution has already identified a vulnerable student, but those in their immediate circle remain outside this information loop.
When help exists, why are students still afraid to use it? A Delhi University counselor, who wished to remain anonymous, explains that 'they were told; they were accustomed to thinking they could handle everything themselves. So, I think it's an internal conflict they first need to fight to come to us.'
Once a student decides to seek help, the burden must shift to the institution. However, only 43 percent of students surveyed by the NTF stated that they knew their institution provided counseling. If support exists, but students do not know where to find it, how accessible is it really?
The shortage of staff creates another pain point. The counselor notes: 'We only have two psychologists in the college, and there are about 7000 students.' Even if they could see 15–20 clients each per week, serving 40 students weekly, there would still be many students wanting sessions, and they could not help them.
The tension continues behind the counselor's office door. 'We receive very little money compared to the volume of work we do,' she says. 'There is also a lack of supervision. We pay for our own supervision, and if we get it from good, experienced psychologists, the fee is very high.'
For a system that asks counselors to support students during moments of severe stress, this support cannot depend solely on personal dedication. 'Sigmund Freud said that psychoanalysis is healing through love, and I firmly believe that this work of caring for the minds of others requires us to carry that love.' The question for institutions is whether this care is adequately provided with personnel, support, and sustainability.
What Happens After a Student Seeks Help?
A successful call can still be the beginning of a new phase if the counselor decides that the person needs help beyond just talking and refers them to another specialist or hospital. The key question then is whether the caller reached the next level of care and if anyone knows if they did. For someone already under severe stress, every additional appointment or trip becomes another step they have to manage.
Tele-MANAS processed 4.364 million calls by August 11, 2026, through 53 cells covering all states and union territories in 20 languages. By March, 47,487 callers were referred for non-emergency in-person assistance, and over 5,000 urgent referrals were made to emergency psychiatric departments. Government data does not show how many of these callers subsequently received the recommended help or how quickly that help was provided to them.
Krishnan insists that 'follow-up is not optional,' because a referral does not guarantee that the person in crisis actually reached the hospital or specialist they were directed to. The caller might take one difficult step by asking for help and then find themselves having to manage the next stage alone. Thus, the effectiveness of the referral depends on what happens after the number is passed on.
How Should Students and Systems Respond?
Krishnan explains that 'the priority is safety, not solving the entire life of the person.' A person who might attempt suicide should be moved to a safer place and avoid being alone. Reaching out to a trusted person with a simple phrase like: 'I am not safe alone right now. Can you stay with me?' can be a start. If an attempt has already occurred or the situation is life-threatening, emergency medical help is necessary.
Even voicing distress can feel overwhelming, so Krishnan says that 'seeking help doesn't start with a detailed conversation or even verbal communication.' A student can send a message or show someone what they wrote if speaking is too difficult. They can simply say: 'I don't know how to explain it, but I need help.'
What happens after these words are heard cannot rest entirely on one specialist, especially when the student eventually returns to the academic and residential environment where their stress originated. Krishnan notes: 'A counselor cannot be the entire suicide prevention system of the institution.' 'If the student returns to the same academic, interpersonal, or residential environment without any coordination or support, we have not actually solved the problem.'
At the beginning of this story, the student picked up the phone, while another student might have entered the counselor's office or told someone they no longer felt safe. In either case, the action requested by all awareness campaigns took place because the student sought help. The next question Krishnan poses to the system is: 'What happens next, who is responsible for it, and how do we know the student actually received help?'
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