Supreme Court issues nationwide directives to tackle rising student suicides in schools, colleges, and coaching centres. Guidelines include mandatory counsellors, safety measures, and anti-bullying protocols.
New Delhi: Today, on July 25, the Supreme Court of India has taken a strong step to deal with the increasing number of suicides and mental health problems among students in schools, colleges, universities, and coaching centres across the country.
On Friday, a two-judge bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued a set of 15 nationwide guidelines that will remain legally binding until the central government passes proper laws or regulations for student mental health and suicide prevention.
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The Supreme Court clearly said there is a serious lack of laws and rules in India that provide a uniform and enforceable system to protect the mental health of students.
“There remained a ‘legislative and regulatory vacuum’ in the country with respect to a unified, enforceable framework for suicide prevention of students in educational institutions, coaching centres, and student-centric environments.”
The Court directed that all educational institutions must adopt and follow a common mental health policy.
This policy must take reference from the “Ummeed” draft guidelines, the “Manodarpan” initiative, and the National Suicide Prevention Strategy. These policies must also be updated every year and shared publicly.
The bench said,
“This policy shall be reviewed and updated annually and made publicly accessible on institutional websites and notice boards of the institutes,”
The Supreme Court acknowledged the efforts of the central government to address the crisis. It noted that the “Ummeed” draft guidelines were launched by the Ministry of Education in 2023 to reduce suicides among school students.
Additionally, the “Manodarpan” initiative was launched during the COVID-19 pandemic to promote the mental well-being of students.
This order was part of a case where the parents of a 17-year-old NEET aspirant from Visakhapatnam appealed for a CBI probe after the Andhra Pradesh High Court rejected their plea.
The student had died by suicide under suspicious circumstances while preparing for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).
In response, the top court transferred the case to the CBI and ordered that the agency register the case immediately and assign it to a team under the supervision of the local CBI superintendent.
At the same time, the Court issued strong and detailed guidelines to prevent such tragedies in the future.
These guidelines apply to all educational setups – whether schools, colleges, coaching centres, residential hostels, or training institutes – public or private, regardless of their board or university affiliation.
Some of the key directions include:
- Institutions with 100 or more students must have at least one trained mental health professional (counsellor, psychologist, or social worker) with proven experience in handling child and adolescent mental health.
- Smaller institutions must create referral links with external mental health professionals so students can still access help.
The verdict said,
“Institutions with fewer students shall establish formal referral linkages with external mental health professionals,”
- All residential institutions must install tamper-proof ceiling fans or other safety equipment in hostels to prevent impulsive acts of self-harm. Access to rooftops, balconies, and other high-risk areas must be restricted.
“All residential-based institutions shall install tamper-proof ceiling fans or equivalent safety devices, and shall restrict access to rooftops, balconies, and other high-risk areas, in order to deter impulsive acts of self-harm.”
- Coaching centres and schools must not divide or label students based on their marks or academic performance. Public shaming or giving academic targets that students cannot handle must also stop.
“All educational institutions, particularly coaching institutes or centres, were asked to refrain from segregating students’ batches on the basis of academic performance, public shaming, or assignment of academic targets disproportionate to their capacities.”
- Every institution must have confidential and strong mechanisms for reporting and dealing with issues like sexual assault, harassment, ragging, bullying, and discrimination based on caste, class, gender, disability, religion, or sexual orientation.
“All educational institutions shall establish robust, confidential, and accessible mechanisms for the reporting, redressal, and prevention of incidents involving sexual assault, harassment, ragging, and bullying on the basis of caste, class, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion, or ethnicity,” the order said.
- Institutions must not retaliate against students or whistle-blowers who report any wrongdoings.
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The bench stressed on the need for zero tolerance when it came to retaliatory actions against complainants or whistle-blowers.
- If there is any such case, institutions must refer the student immediately to a trained mental health expert and take steps to ensure their safety.
It said,
“In all such cases, immediate referral to trained mental health professionals must be ensured, and the student’s safety, physical and psychological, should be prioritised,”
- If an institution fails to act on such complaints or delays help, and if that results in a student’s suicide or self-harm, the institution will be held responsible and legal action can be taken against it.
The bench added,
“Failure to take timely or adequate action in such cases, especially where such neglect contributes to a student’s self-harm or suicide, shall be treated as institutional culpability, making the administration liable to regulatory and legal consequences,”
The Court also ordered major coaching hubs like Kota, Jaipur, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi, and Mumbai to implement stronger mental health protections and preventive steps.
These guidelines will not interfere with the work of the National Task Force already formed for mental health and suicide prevention in higher education institutions. Instead, they will provide interim protection to students until a complete legal system is in place.
The bench clarified,
“We may clarify that these guidelines are not in supersession but in parallel to the ongoing work of the National Task Force on mental health concerns of students and are being issued to provide an interim protective architecture in the interregnum,”
Further, the Court asked all states and union territories to, as far as possible, notify rules within two months making it compulsory for all private coaching centres to register, follow student protection norms, and set up grievance redressal systems.
Finally, the Court directed the Central Government to file a compliance affidavit within 90 days, explaining what steps have been taken to enforce these guidelines and how the monitoring will work. The matter has been listed for October 27 for further hearing on the compliance status.
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