Education Ministry forms panel to review suicide cases at IIT-Kanpur

After a PhD scholar jumped to death from a building at IIT Kanpur earlier this week, the Education Ministry has constituted a three-member committee to “review cases of student suicides” at the institute. This was the third such incident at IIT Kanpur in the past four months.

The committee will examine the circumstances around these incidents, institutional policies, grievance redressal mechanisms, counselling services, and other student support systems. The panel will be headed by Anil Sahasrabudhe, chairman of the NETF, and will comprise Dr Jitendra Nagpal, senior psychiatrist at Moolchand Hospital, and an official of the Education Ministry.

The committee has been tasked with ascertaining if IIT Kanpur has been complying with framework guidelines that the Ministry issued in 2023 on emotional and mental well-being of students at higher education institutions. It will identify gaps and areas to be strengthened in the framework for mental health and well-being, and will recommend measures to the Ministry on prevention of student suicides, and enhancing support.