Education Ministry forms panel to probe student suicides at IIT Kanpur

The Education Ministry has set up a three-member committee to investigate student suicides at IIT Kanpur, following the death of a PhD scholar earlier this week. This is the third such incident at the institute in the past four months.

The committee will examine the circumstances of the incidents, review institutional policies, grievance redressal systems, counselling services, and other student support mechanisms.

It will be headed by Anil Sahasrabudhe, chairman of the National Educational Technology Forum, and will include Dr Jitendra Nagpal, senior psychiatrist at Moolchand Hospital, along with an official from the Education Ministry.

The panel has been tasked with assessing whether IIT Kanpur has complied with the Ministry’s 2023 guidelines on student mental and emotional well-being. It will identify gaps in the framework and recommend measures to prevent student suicides and enhance support services.