Task force survey finds student distress and suicidal thoughts

A nationwide survey by a Supreme Court-appointed task force found that 9% of more than 243,000 higher-education students who responded reported experiencing suicidal thoughts often or very often during the previous year. The task force also found that 15% experienced several weeks of distress, low mood or anxiety in the six months before the survey, while 34% felt like outsiders on campus to varying degrees. The National Task Force’s findings are preliminary. Officials cautioned that the survey sample is not representative of the entire higher-education student population, and that responses to several questions, including open-text submissions, remain under analysis. The figures therefore describe the respondents, not the prevalence of these experiences among all students. The measure of suicidal thoughts is self-reported and is not a count of suicides. The survey received responses from more than 243,000 students at higher-education institutions. About 67% of respondents belonged to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe or Other Backward Classes categories.