Central panel on mental health extends survey deadline as institutions, students show poor response

NEw new delhi: The sublime Court-constituted subject Task drive (NTF) on pupil mental health and suicide prevention in higher education institutions has extended its online survey deadline to December 15 after receiving responses from 10% of over 60,000 institution heads and 1.6% of an estimated 43 million enrolled students as of November 25.The survey, according to the NTF, has become the “biggest challenge” for the task force even though participation is mandatory for higher education institutions. Only 6,357 out of more than 60,000 institutions have responded.“The response rate has not only been low, but also regionally very uneven – major states with a high density of higher education institutions such as Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana, as well as states like Bihar, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Odisha, have so far been extremely poor in their response rate, compared to other states and UTs. Moreover, professional institutes, especially in the medical and legal fields, are highly underrepresented,” the NTF said in a statement on Thursday.The statement added that the final deadline for filling up online surveys has been extended to December 15 to increase responses.“Institutions are not cooperating,” an NTF member told HT.The Supreme Court on October 10 had directed all institutes to participate in the survey.The 18-member task force formed by the Supreme Court in March 2025 is tasked with identifying key causes of student suicides, reviewing regulations for systemic gaps, and recommending measures to improve mental health and prevent death by suicide.It was scheduled to submit its interim report by the end of September but submitted it on November 6 due to delays and the minuscule number of responses from institutions and other stakeholders.The interim report contains existing data, laws and prior reports on student mental health and suicide cases. It also includes initial findings from surveys and field visits and is awaiting the Court’s ratification.The number of student suicides in India climbed to a record high of 13,892 in 2023, according to the latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in September. This marks a 6.5% increase from 13,044 student suicides in 2022, a 6.1% rise from 13,089 in 2021, and a 10.8% increase from 12,526 in 2020. Since its constitution, the NTF has visited at least 13 institutions across Delhi, Haryana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, engaging with students, faculty, administrators and grievance committees.While appealing to stakeholders to participate in the survey, the NTF said it is particularly concerned about those states and professional institutions where the response rate has been “very low, which would hamper our work considerably.”“The diversity of views and lived experiences collected through this participatory process will play a critical role in shaping the final recommendations of the Task Force,” the NTF statement said.The final report is likely to be submitted to the Supreme Court by April 2026, an NTF member said.