Supreme Court Expresses Displeasure Over Low Response to Student Mental Health Survey

The National Task Force (NTF), constituted by the Supreme Court of India under the Ministry of Education to address mental health concerns and suicide prevention among students, has faced a significant hurdle: the non-cooperation of thousands of educational institutions. During a Supreme Court hearing on October 10, 2025, the Court observed with concern that nearly 57,000 institutions had not responded to the ongoing national survey, prompting strong displeasure and immediate directives to ensure full compliance.

Following the Court’s observation, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) directed the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the Indian Nursing Council (INC) to mandate immediate participation from all institutions registered under their administrative control. This nationwide campaign seeks to gather anonymous and confidential inputs to inform preventive measures against student suicides in educational settings.

Mandatory Compliance for Medical and Nursing Institutions

The National Task Force had launched its official website and a series of surveys on August 8, 2025, seeking diverse perspectives from students, parents, faculty, mental health providers, and institutional representatives.

In response to the Supreme Court’s directive, the NMC and INC have issued urgent notifications:

1. Medical and Nursing Institutions are instructed to mandatorily respond to the NTF survey without any further delay, as non-compliance may attract adverse observations from the Court.
2. The Indian Nursing Council set a priority deadline, requiring all nursing institutions to fill the NTF survey form before October 29, 2025.
3. All Medical Colleges/Institutions under the NMC were directed to visit the website and participate in the relevant surveys, as well as disseminate the link and survey information widely among students and faculty.
4. Institutional Surveys require the use of AISHE User Credentials assigned to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) for completion.

Focus Areas of the Confidential Survey

The structured online questionnaires, available in both English and Hindi, aim to gather confidential data on systemic and operational challenges affecting student well-being:

• Campus environment, inclusivity, and belongingness.
• Sources of distress and systemic discrimination.
• Existing support systems and grievance redressal mechanisms.
• Suggestions for improving student well-being.