NIT Kurukshetra Student Suicides Academic & Financial Pressure

4 college students died by suicide in NIT Kurukshetra in 2 months. This is the figure of deaths in National Institute of Technology i.e. NIT Kurukshetra from 16 February to 16 April. These 4 students committed suicide either due to academic or financial pressure.

4 deaths in 2 months

On April 16, a student, Deeksha Dubey, committed suicide in the college hostel. Deeksha was a first semester student of AI and Data Science. She was a resident of Buxar, Bihar.

There have been three deaths in the college before. On February 16, Angod Shiva, a 19-year-old computer engineering student, committed suicide in the college. Shiva had come from Telangana to study at NIT Kurukshetra.

On March 31, 22-year-old electrical engineering student Pawan Kumar committed suicide. Pawan was a resident of Nuh district of Haryana.

On April 8, Priyanshu Verma, a third year civil engineering student from NIT, committed suicide. Suicide note was found but the reason for suicide is not clear. Priyanshu was a resident of Sirsa district of Haryana.

Two more students tried to commit suicide

Apart from this, two more students had also tried to commit suicide, but they were saved.

Students are facing academic and financial pressure

A member of the College Student Council spoke to us on the condition of anonymity. Told that some students have committed suicide under the pressure of re-exam system in the college. Some committed suicide after falling into the financial trap of credit cards and online betting.

Academic and financial pressure may be the direct cause of these deaths, but its flip side also points to the lack of mental health support system in the college.

Protest regarding investigation of suicide cases

College students are protesting against the recent deaths on campus and the attitude of the college administration towards them.

In this protest, many issues were raised including suicides on campus and the demand for an independent investigation into these deaths was raised.

Apart from this, there was a demand to change the re-exam system which increases academic pressure and to restore and improve the mental health support system in the campus.

College students protested on April 16 after suicide deaths in NIT Kurukshetra.

Students say that till now there is no special mental health support system in the college. A student, on the condition of anonymity, said, ‘There is a counselor, but she is rarely seen in the college.’

College administration evacuated the campus

The college administration closed the college before the semester break and instructed the students to return home. Along with this, a notice has been issued ordering the students to directly appear in the examination in August.

Were giving credit cards to students at expensive rates

After the news of student protest, Haryana State Commission for Women (HSCW) Chairperson Renu Bhatia visited the campus on April 28 and talked to the students. Their investigation also revealed the issue of taking credit cards on expensive installments and online betting-gambling.

According to reports, private banks were giving credit cards to students at 36% interest rate only on ID cards. Due to this, students were investing money on online betting apps and after getting into debt after the defeat, they were taking money from private money lenders and repaying them. After getting trapped in a kind of loop, he committed suicide.

Student said- ‘There were counselors, but there was no access to them in need’

College PRO and recently elected Dean of Academics, Jian Bhushan, says that the investigation has found different reasons for everyone’s suicide.

Renu Bhatia said in a report that in the case of two boys who committed suicide, it has come to light that they were involved in gambling and were in debt. His suicide note mentions financial pressure.

There may not be a single reason for the death of college students, but the common reason for suicide in all of them is mental stress. But he did not have access to a counselor during his time in college.

When asked about this, the current PRO of the college, Jiyan Bhushan, said that there is a provision of counselors in the college for the last three years. Counselor and psychologist Anjali Taneja was appointed in 2025.

In such a situation, students say that all this is on paper but there is not a proper system which can really help the children. Students told that earlier too there were psychologists in the college. When we approached ourselves, we could talk, but our access to them was not that easy. They were available only for a few hours on selected days.

Professor says- go out of campus and commit suicide

The college closed the college as soon as the suicide case was highlighted after the protest. On this, students say that the college is running away from the broad systemic problem instead of addressing it and taking responsibility for it. Some professor even told the children that if they wanted to commit suicide, they should do it outside the campus.

In the protest, the students said – Diksha was declared dead without even checking her, just by looking at her from the window.

The college formed an internal panel to investigate the matter. However, students say that no such information or report has been made public as to what came out in the investigation. The college says that the report has been handed over to the concerned authorities.

Professor Jian said that the credit card system has been stopped in the campus. According to the officiating director of NIT, three committees have been formed for the mental health support of the students, one of which will be for one-on-one regular interaction with the students, the second will be of wardens and the third committee of faculty members has been formed. But the question of the students is that when it comes to mental health, will the problem be solved just by assigning mentors?

Student suicide cases have increased by 65% ​​in the last ten years

When the last death occurred on April 16, the body remained hanging for 3 hours. The students allege that no one even touched the dead body. This insensitive attitude of the administration hurt the students very much.

After student protest, the college had asked to vacate the hostel.

Apart from these deaths at NIT Kurukshetra, at least 5 cases of student suicide have also been reported at BITS Pilani Goa campus in the last 15 months.

If we look at the picture of the entire country, then according to the 2023 report of the National Crime Records Bureau i.e. NCRB, the number of student suicides in the country reached 13,892 in 2023. It has increased by about 65% in the last ten years. According to the NCRB 2022 report, this figure was 13,044 in 2022.

But even these figures cannot indicate the seriousness of the problem, because many cases are not reported or are recorded as ‘deaths due to other causes’.

A study led by the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) finds that the support systems in place for students in colleges are largely ineffective and not functioning properly.

Mental health system for formality, but not access and quality

According to reports, there are many reasons for the failure of the mental health system in Indian campuses. There are many major flaws in it such as-

According to many studies done on this, the trend is that there is a huge shortage of mental health professionals, the budget is also limited and more importantly, there is no clarity regarding the role of ‘counsellor’. Apart from this, due to stigma and privacy concerns related to mental health, many students avoid seeking help.

It is clear from this that even though mental health systems are being created on campus to complete the formalities, its reach and quality is still not the same in every institution. It is necessary for every college to have 24×7 helpline and support system.

The University Grants Commission or UGC has issued guidelines to deal with mental health problems of students and prevent suicide in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) following the 2025 Supreme Court order.

According to the draft of UGC, an ideal campus should be such that there is a complete system regarding mental health,

Along with this, regular awareness programs and workshops are necessary. So that students can learn life skills, stress management and coping skills. In this, mental health training is also necessary for teachers so that they can play the role of gatekeeper.

Apart from this, the UGC draft also states that there should be an immediate response system at the time of mental health crisis, follow-up after the crisis, digital reporting of the entire process and support systems and helplines of the institutions will have to be linked to national platforms like Tele-MANAS and district level services like District Mental Health Programme.

It is also important to develop a separate peer support system for students. Institutions with 100 or more students should have at least 1 qualified mental health professional and should consider having 1 expert for approximately every 500 students.

IITs started wellness sessions, Kerala started ‘Jeevanni’ mental health project

Some top institutions have made necessary efforts towards reform. Such as IITs have conducted wellness sessions, awareness campaigns, and tie-ups with external e-counselling services.

Additionally, the Government of Kerala has launched a College Mental Health Project named ‘Jeevanni’, which provides mental health services in all Government Arts and Science Colleges.

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