CIC directs IITs to form high-level committees to curb student deaths by suicides
The Central Information Commission has ordered IITs to establish high-level committees to address the rising number of student suicides. This directive follows an RTI appeal seeking data on student deaths, which institutions had previously withheld citing privacy exemptions.
Why it matters
The intervention highlights a growing national concern regarding mental health support and institutional accountability within India's premier technical education system.
Expressing concern over recurring student suicides across Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the Central Information Commission (CIC) has directed the institutions to constitute high-level committees to recommend measures for preventing such deaths and mitigating the factors that contribute to them.
The direction came while disposing of appeals filed by Dheeraj Kumar Singh, an alumnus of IIT-Kanpur and founder of a non-governmental organisation (NGO) engaged in student rehabilitation and mental health counselling.
Mr. Singh, under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, had sought details regarding the students, research scholars, and staff who ended their lives at IIT-Madras, IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Goa, and IIT-Jodhpur since January 1, 2005.
He wanted information including age, gender, caste/category, academic programme, native State, date of suicide, and whether the death occurred on the campus. Stating that the details were required for academic research, he said the names of the deceased could be withheld if necessary.
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