A mental health policy paradigm shift

• The Supreme Court of India formed a National Task Force to prevent increasing suicide deaths among students on campuses.

• The Delhi Police was directed to register an FIR on the complaints of two students who died by suicide while studying at IIT Delhi in 2023.

• The IIT Council led by the Education Minister directed IITs to ensure ‘zero tolerance’ to discrimination and provide a robust support system to students.

Institutional Response to Suicide

• Institutional response to suicide is often individualistic and reductionist, often appointing more psychologists on campuses.

• Socio-structural determinants of mental health, such as discrimination and biased institutional policies, are often left unattended.

• Counselling centres are active at all IITs, but psychologists often refrain from calling attention to the biased institutional policies impacting mental health.

Language and Gender Stereotypes

• Language is not just a collection of words; it is action.

• The use of gender-sexuality exclusionary language points towards non-compliance with existing legal frameworks and Supreme Court rulings.

• The Supreme Court launched the Handbook on Combating Gender Stereotypes in 2023, recognising the need to use unbiased language.

The Role of Teachers

• Teachers should cultivate cultural safety and empathy in the classroom.

• Current policies on mental health need a paradigm shift to a bottom-up approach focused on the classroom.

• Counselling centres need to mobilise all possible resources at multiple levels to make care the central value.