The tragic self-immolation and death of a student at FM College in Odisha, following alleged abuse by a faculty member, has sent shockwaves across the state. The student, who died by suicide after multiple pleas to authorities and a sham hearing by the Internal Complaints Committee, has starkly exposed the inadequate, or mostly absent, student support systems in higher education institutions. In response, the Odisha government has launched the "Shaktishree" initiative, aimed at "transforming women's safety in higher education institutions." However, such knee-jerk solutions, which aim at the optics of action rather than meaningful change, must be replaced by robust and comprehensive student support frameworks.
Is "Shaktishree" Enough?
Under the Shaktishree initiative, Empowerment Cells are to be established in nearly 730 colleges under 16 state universities. Each cell is expected to include a trained female student and a woman faculty member. Other features include a mobile app for accessing services, round-the-clock CCTV surveillance, self-defence training, and the appointment of five accomplished women in each district to mentor female students. The programme bears resemblance to IIT Kharagpur's "Campus Mothers" scheme.
Both sound promising, but in their gendered stereotyping, they dilute the focus from the need to create a professional mental health infrastructure.
The College Campus
Mental health concerns among college students are rising rapidly. According to the World Mental Health Survey conducted across 21 countries in 2016, one in five college students met the criteria for a psychiatric disorder. Indian studies show comparable numbers. Severe mental illnesses often begin during late adolescence and early adulthood, the characteristic neurodevelopment phase, which is the precise age group that populates our college campuses. In Odisha, student suicides (across schools and colleges) rose by more than 50% between 2021 and 2023, with 189 cases reported in 2023 alone.
Fortunately, mental health interventions in higher education have shown encouraging outcomes in college students. Evidence-based programmes, such as mindfulness training, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and technology-driven interventions, have been effective in reducing mental health difficulties among college students. Yet, despite guidelines issued by the UGC and AICTE in 2023, most colleges in Odisha still do not have a single professional counsellor on their rolls.
The Shaktishree initiative does include a telehealth feature that connects students to Tele-MANAS, a national mental health helpline by NIMHANS. As of May 2024, Tele-MANAS had handled over one million calls, averaging 3,500 per day, through 51 cells across India. Odisha alone accounted for about 20,000 calls between 2021 and 2023, predominantly from young callers. While promising, helplines cannot replace embedded, on-campus mental health support.
The crisis extends to private institutions as well. Just last week, a leading private university in Bhubaneswar, KIIT, was publicly reprimanded by the UGC after the suicide of a foreign student. The regulatory body issued a show-cause notice, raising serious concerns about the university's mental health support systems, safety protocols, and its administrative handling, accusing it of "illegal compromise in harassment complaints".
A Model Worth Emulating
Kerala, a state with high indices in healthcare, provides another example to emulate in this domain. "JEEVANI", a structured, state-wide, comprehensive college mental health programme for students in all government arts and science colleges of the state, has been successfully implemented. It is also the largest structured college mental health service in India. Each JEEVANI unit includes a full-time counsellor and offers evidence-based, clinically supervised interventions and referrals. The system is continuously improved through regular administrative feedback and is a model that other states, including Odisha, would do well to replicate.
At the national level, the seriousness of the issue has reached the Supreme Court. In 2025, it constituted a National Task Force on the Mental Health Concerns of Students and the Prevention of Suicides in Higher Educational Institutions. The task force held its second meeting in April this year and is currently focusing on areas including identifying prominent causes leading to student suicides, analysing the effectiveness of existing student welfare and mental health policies, and eventually proposing reforms to strengthen institutional frameworks and create a supportive academic environment. While the task force might do a good job in meeting the objectives, its translation to action is a different story.
Shaky Foundations
Even the most well-intentioned support systems will fail if deeper structural issues remain unaddressed. As of early 2025, 65% of permanent teaching posts (1,307 positions) and 71% of non-teaching posts in Odisha's public universities remain vacant. Two of the largest universities in the state have failed to appoint student grievance ombudsmen despite multiple UGC directives. Discrimination based on gender, caste, or other marginalised identities continues to plague campuses, significantly impacting students' mental well-being.
These issues are not unique to Odisha and are a well-documented national malaise afflicting higher education. Still, Odisha must take urgent, state-level action rather than wait for national reforms to trickle down.
While the "Shaktishree" scheme may appear to be a step in the right direction, its limited scope and emphasis on safety over holistic support fall short of what is truly needed. The absence of a professionally structured, integrated, and evidence-informed student support ecosystem is a glaring gap.
Until Odisha develops a comprehensive, well-funded, and expertly staffed plan for student well-being, the youth in its colleges will remain vulnerable not just to academic pressures, but to the compounded effects of neglect, abuse, and institutional apathy.
(Dr Sambit Dash, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Biochemistry at Manipal University College Malaysia. He comments on public policy and health and can be reached on X @sambit_dash. Views are personal.)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
