- Four student suicides occurred recently, highlighting urgent mental health concerns in schools
- NEP 2020 mandates schools to provide counselling and holistic support for student well-being
- UMMEED 2023 guidelines urge schools to form wellness teams to identify and assist at-risk students
4 student suicides in a month.
Let this harsh reality sink in.
Just days after a Class 10 student in Delhi died by suicide, reportedly after being mentally harassed and humiliated by his teachers, another tragedy unfolded in Maharashtra's Jalna on Friday where a 13-year-old girl jumped off the school building after she was allegedly tortured by her teachers. Earlier this month, a Class 4 child in Jaipur killed herself after facing relentless bullying in her school for several months. Her repeated calls for help fell on deaf ears. In yet another case of student suicide, a Class 11 student was found hanging at her home in Madhya Pradesh's Rewa on November 16. The girl had left a hand-written note accusing a male teacher of torturing her.
These incidents have once again triggered the debate around mental health crisis in schools and necessitated the need for systemic long term reforms. While we still await a nationwide law for mental health and suicide prevention, let's take a look at the steps taken by the Centre to address this challenge and whether schools are following these directives.
NEP 2020 Prioritises Students' Mental Health
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 focuses on the holistic development of the child. It recommends that every educational institution should establish counselling systems for handling stress and emotional adjustments. As per the policy, professional academic and career counselling will be available to all students, along with counsellors to ensure their physical, psychological and emotional well-being. Running happiness and wellness programs, reducing stress through peer support and learning in local languages form an essential part of the policy.
UMMEED Guidelines 2023
The Union Ministry of Education (MoE) released the UMMEED draft guidelines in 2023 to prevent student suicides. UMMEED translates to Understand, Motivate, Manage, Empathise, Empower and Develop. The guidelines, based on the principle of 'Every Child Matters' aim to serve as "directions to schools for enhancing sensitivity, understanding and providing support in case of reported self-harm".
It also prescribes setting up of School Wellness Teams (SWT) responsible for identifying students displaying warning signs and those at risk of self-harm, immediately responding to their needs, fostering partnerships among schools, parents, and the community to create a robust support network aimed at preventing suicides.
Manodarpan Programme
Launched during Covid times, the Manodarpan programme aims to provide psychosocial support to students, teachers & families for their mental health and emotional well-being. Counsellors are available 24*7 on toll-free number 8448440632.
Similarly, Tele-MANAS, under the Ministry of Health, provides 24*7 tele-mental health support through toll-free numbers, allowing students to access counselling from anywhere. Since its launch in 2022, nearly 25 lakh calls have been made to this number.
Are Schools Doing The Needful?
#IndiaMatters | Student suicide sparks national outrage. Are our schools failing our children? NDTV's @ShivAroor in conversation with Ashneer Grover (@Ashneer_Grover) on pressure, parenting & accountability in education.#NDTVExclusive pic.twitter.com/jsqyuq52Ox
— NDTV (@ndtv) November 21, 2025
At Sanskriti School in Delhi, wellness teams are run regularly with age-appropriate sessions. Students are taught to notice early warning signs in their peers and alert trusted adults, say authorities.
Praneet Mungali, Trustee of Sanskriti Group Schools, said, "At Sanskriti, we believe mental health must be protected long before a crisis appears. Our wellness teams run sessions where students learn what to do when they feel worried, anxious or emotionally overloaded and whom to reach out to immediately. In parallel, we take deliberate steps to nurture the emotional well-being of our teachers because children absorb the emotional climate of the adults around them. This intentional, proactive model ensures that support flows across the entire school community-students, teachers and families."
Geeta Sachdeva, Director of Excelsior American School, emphasises that that while schools are trying to follow NEP guidelines by focusing on emotional well-being, the real work lies in how we hold our children - every single day.
"More schools now have counsellors and support teams, but beyond counsellors, what children truly need is us. They need adults who listen without judgement, classrooms where they feel safe to speak, and school environments where they are valued for who they are, not just for what they score," added Sachdeva.
Dr Neeta Kohli, Principal at Delhi City School, highlights that schools are doing their best to implement the NEP guidelines.
"Besides structural changes, the policy has laid down the holistic development of students. Here it is pertinent to mention that academic excellence and mental well-being is being appropriately balanced and taken care of. We have regular counselling sessions on stress and anger management," she told NDTV.
Experts Call For Effective Policy Implementation
Mental Health Counsellor Arouba Kabir says that the implementation of NEP is patchy and often superficial.
She stressed, "While schools may conduct a 'wellness week' or keep a counsellor on the roster, there is rarely consistent, trauma-informed support for students. Teachers are not adequately trained to recognise distress, classrooms still prioritise marks over well-being and students fear speaking up because of stigma and judgement. The NEP has the right intentions but intentions alone can't save lives."
Supreme Court Guidelines And The Need For A Nationwide Law
In July this year, the top court had laid down 15 guidelines with an aim to safeguard students' mental health. The court directed all educational institutions to adopt and implement a uniform mental health policy, drawing from the UMMEED draft guidelines, the Manodarpan initiative and the National Suicide Prevention Strategy. The court said that the policy must be reviewed annually and made publicly accessible on institutional websites and notice boards.
The next hearing will be in January 2026, and until appropriate legislation or regulatory frameworks are enacted by competent authorities, the onus is on educational institutes.
