In the wake of an alarming rise in suicides among students and unemployed youth, a Parliamentary Committee has called for urgent action to address the mental health crisis. The committee has recommended that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare should establish a 24X7 helpline to counsel and support youths who fail competitive exams and are at risk of suicide.
The Parliamentary panel highlighted the distressing fact that the highest number of suicides in the country has been reported among students and unemployed youth. Despite this troubling observation, the issue of student suicides has not received the same level of attention and concern as farmer suicides, which are often referred to as a national crisis. The committee emphasised the need to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health issues and urged the government to prioritise mental health care to protect the vulnerable youth population.
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To effectively address the mental health crisis, the committee called for the implementation of a comprehensive National Suicide Prevention Strategy (NSPS). This strategy aims to reduce the number of suicides in the country by 10 per cent by 2030, according to a PTI report. The committee stressed the importance of providing mental health care services specifically tailored to adolescents, young people, and children. The panel also urged the engagement of experts specially trained to understand the unique needs of these groups.
The committee proposed the establishment of a dedicated cadre of co-counselors in all schools under the ‘Manodarpan’ initiative. These co-counselors would focus on creating inclusive learning spaces that prioritize students’ social and emotional learning.
The committee also recommended the ministry make provisions under its 24X7 helpline to telephonically connect with youths who fail to qualify for competitive exams like UPSC CSE, NEET, SSC, JEE, etc, by few marks and counsel them against committing suicides, PTI reported.
The panel urged the government to devise mental health care services for adolescents, young people, and children and engage experts who are specifically trained to understand such people’s needs. It also made a recommendation to form a dedicated cadre of co-counselors in all schools under the ‘Manodarpan’ initiative.
If you or someone you know needs help, call any of these helplines: Aasra (Mumbai) 022-27546669, Sneha (Chennai) 044-24640050, Sumaitri (Delhi) 011-23389090, Cooj (Goa) 0832- 2252525, Jeevan (Jamshedpur) 065-76453841, Pratheeksha (Kochi) 048-42448830, Maithri (Kochi) 0484-2540530, Roshni (Hyderabad) 040-66202000, Lifeline 033-64643267 (Kolkata)
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