While India takes pride in its young population around the world, an alarming study was released on Wednesday that highlighted the issue of Students Suicides in India. The report, titled "Student Suicides: An Epidemic Sweeping India," was released on Wednesday during the Annual IC3 Conference and Expo 2024. The study revealed that Student suicides in India are increasing at a disturbing rate, surpassing both population growth and overall suicide trends. IC3 which is a non-profit organization drew data from NCRB and highlighted that overall suicide rates in India have increased by 2% annually, on the other hand, the rate of student suicides has surged by 4%. The report also suggests these figures may be underreported, indicating a potentially even more severe issue.
IC3 report on student suicides in India also revealed the list of states where most numbers of students take their own life. Furthermore, the report highlights that in 2022, there were 13,044 reported student suicides in India, a marginal decrease from 13,089 in 2021. Despite this slight drop, the overall suicide rate — encompassing both students and the general population — spiked significantly by 4.2 percent, climbing from 164,033 in 2021 to 170,924 in 2022. Notably, the rate of student suicides has been rising at twice the pace of overall suicides over the past 20 years. Below is a list of states where the most number of students suicide takes place along with numbers-
- Maharashtra: 1,764 suicides in 2022 (14 percent of total student suicides)
- Tamil Nadu: 1,416 suicides in 2022 (11 percent of total student suicides)
- Madhya Pradesh: 1,340 suicides in 2022 (10 percent of total student suicides)
- Uttar Pradesh: 1,060 suicides in 2022 (8 percent of total student suicides)
- Jharkhand: 824 suicides in 2022 (6 percent of total student suicides)
In 2022, there were 13,044 reported student suicides compared to 13,089 in 2021, representing an insignificant decrease in Y-O-Y says the study adding that in comparison, total suicides (students and other people) increased by 4.2 percent, from 164,033 in 2021 to 170,924 in 2022.. Over the last 10 and 20 years, total suicides increased 2 percent annually on average while student suicides increased 4 percent - i.e. 2X that of total suicides.
What are the most common reasons for student suicide rate increase as per the study?
As per the study, several key factors lead to student suicide.
- Academic distress
- Forces Career Choices
- Lack of support from educational institutions
- Ragging and bullying
- Discrimination based on caste, gender or class
- Financial stress
- Changing family structures
- Emotional Neglect
- Societal Apathy
- Undetected psychiatric disorder