India's Mental Health Crisis: Survey Deadline Extended as Institutions Struggle to Meet Participation Requirements
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{ "title": "India's Mental Health Crisis: Survey Deadline Extended as Institutions Struggle to Meet Participation Requirements", "article": "A Supreme Court-constituted task force on student mental health has extended its online survey deadline to December 15 due to poor response rates from institutions and students. The National Task Force on student mental health and suicide prevention has received responses from just 10% of over 60,000 institution heads and 1.6% of an estimated 43 million enrolled students. This has hindered the task force's efforts to gather crucial data to inform its recommendations. The task force, which was formed in March 2025, had initially set a deadline of November 25, but has now extended it to December 15 in an attempt to boost participation. Despite the Supreme Court's directive to all institutions to participate in the survey, many have failed to comply. In fact, some of the country's largest states, including Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, have shown particularly poor response rates. The task force's interim report, submitted on November 6, contains existing data, laws, and prior reports on student mental health and suicide cases. However, it lacks the critical data needed to inform the task force's recommendations. With the number of student suicides in India reaching a record high of 13,892 in 2023, the task force is racing against time to submit its final report to the Supreme Court by April 2026. The task force has visited at least 13 institutions across the country, engaging with students, faculty, administrators, and grievance committees. Despite these efforts, the task force is concerned that the lack of participation from certain states and professional institutions will hamper its work. The task force is urging all stakeholders to participate in the survey to ensure that the final report is comprehensive and effective in addressing the country's mental health crisis."
