Twenty four cases of suicide by students were reported in Central Universities in last five years, maximum of them from Uttar Pradesh, according to UGC statistics. The information was shared by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in response to a written question in Lok Sabha. "University Grants Commission (UGC) has informed that Central Universities under its purview have reported 24 suicide cases of students from the year 2017 to 2022. The reasons of suicide by students are not maintained," Pradhan said. The maximum number of cases were reported in 2017 (7) followed by 6 each in 2018 and 2019. The number of student suicide cases reported in Central universities in 2020, 2021 and 2022 so far is one, three and one respectively.
Central Universities in Uttar Pradesh witnessed the maximum number of cases of student suicides during the period with eight cases followed by Delhi and Telangana with four cases each. Bihar, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu reported one case each while Puducherry reported two cases during the period. "The government and UGC have taken several initiatives to check the incidents of harassment and discrimination of students. University Grants Commission (Redressal of Grievances of Students) Regulations, 2019, have been formulated to safeguard the interests of the students. UGC has also notified UGC Regulations on Curbing the Menace of Ragging in Higher Educational Institutions, 2009, and issued circulars for strict compliance of the regulations," Pradhan said. "Further, the Ministry has undertaken various steps such as peer assisted learning, introduction of technical education in regional languages for students in order to ease the academic stress. Students, wardens and caretakers are sensitized to bring to notice the signs of depression in fellow students to the authorities so that timely clinical consultation may be provided," he added. Earlier on Monday, Union Minister of State for Education Rajkumar Ranjan Singh also said in Lok Sabha that as many as 24 cases of suicide by students of central universities were reported since 2017.
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