Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar acknowledged the concerning issue of student suicides attributed to the stress of competitive exams.
On Wednesday, Dhankar urged members of the Upper House to put forth proposals for a discussion on this pressing matter.
In the Rajya Sabha during the Question Hour, members raised five supplementary questions regarding student suicides linked to competitive exams.
Despite Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan addressing all oral supplementaries, the members persisted in expressing their apprehensions and concerns regarding the issue.
Taking cognisance of the seriousness of the issue, Dhankhar said, "I appeal to the honourable members that this is an issue (in which) we must involve ourselves. We can make huge contributions."
Advertisement
He suggested evolving an ecosystem where student suicides can be minimised and brought down to zero.
"Everyone has a role to contribute. I will be open to a discussion on this issue as the members may feel," he stated.
Earlier, replying in the House on the starred or oral questions, Pradhan informed the members that, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), there were 1,70,924 (1.70 lakh) suicides reported in 2022. Of these, suicides due to failure in examinations were 2,051 or 1.2 per cent.
"I take responsibility of this (suicides by students). This should be zero", the minister stated.
Advertisement
Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, in a supplementary, asked if the minister plans to incorporate data-building systems, "considering we have seen a 70 per cent rise in students committing suicides in the past decade".
The minister, quoting the 2022 NCRB data, said there is no such fact before him.
Chaturvedi stated that she had put up data in the House with "full responsibility" and talked about the last 10 years' data of the NCRB.
Regarding this matter, Congress MP KC Venugopal highlighted that the education ministry responded in the Rajya Sabha, revealing that between 2018 and 2021, a minimum of 15 students from SC/ST/OBC communities had tragically taken their own lives in central universities, IITs, and IIMs.
He reportedly further pointed out that over the past five years, more than 13,000 students from SC/ST/OBC communities had discontinued their education at IITs, IIMs, and central universities.
Venugopal emphasized the presence of issues such as caste discrimination, mental harassment, and the alarming rate of student suicides. He questioned whether the government intends to take substantial action in addressing these critical concerns.
