Student Suicides: ‘Teachers Need Training To Spot Distress, Not Replace Counsellors’ | Education and Career News
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Teachers should be trained to spot changes in students’ behaviour and overall well-being, rather than identify specific mental-health conditions, suggests experts.
Confidentiality is particularly important because students are more likely to disclose difficulties when they feel their privacy will be respected. (AI Image)
India recorded 14,488 student deaths by suicide in 2024, the highest number in the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data and a 4.3% increase from 13,892 in 2023. The rise came even as the country’s overall suicide count fell marginally, from 1,71,418 in 2023 to 1,70,746 in 2024. Students accounted for 8.5% of all recorded suicide deaths in 2024, compared with 8.1% a year earlier.
The numbers have renewed scrutiny of how educational institutions identify and respond to student distress. The Supreme Court’s National Task Force on Mental Health Concerns of Students and Prevention of Suicides in Higher Educational Institutions has recommended a broader approach, including training faculty and administrators to recognise academic, financial, social and discrimination-related stressors among students.
During campus visits, the task force found that counselling services existed in many institutions, but students did not always use them because of stigma, mistrust and concerns about confidentiality. In some cases, students viewed counselling services as surveillance rather than support.
How Teachers Can Help?
Dr Heenakshi Bhansali, Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Psychology, Dr Vishwanath Karad MIT World Peace University, Pune, believes teachers are often among the adults who interact with students most consistently. “Teachers should receive basic training to recognise early signs of psychological distress among students. Faculty members are often among the adults who interact with students most consistently, sometimes noticing changes in behaviour before anyone else does,” she said.
But the purpose of training should not be to turn teachers into psychologists. “The purpose of such training should not be to turn teachers into psychologists. The objective is early recognition, empathetic communication and appropriate referral. Simple, non-judgmental conversation can become an important first step towards seeking help,” she explained.
“Teachers should primarily be trained to recognise changes and patterns, rather than specific psychiatric diagnoses,” she said. They may notice a student becoming unusually withdrawn, missing classes frequently, showing a sudden decline in academic performance, appearing persistently anxious or irritable, losing interest in activities or becoming socially isolated.
They should know how to notice “expressions of hopelessness, helplessness or feeling like a burden”, unusual agitation, confusion, risk-taking behaviour and statements or behaviours suggesting that a student may be at risk of harming themselves.
But recognising a warning sign is only the first step. “Equally important is knowing how to respond. Teachers should be trained in basic psychological first response, listening without immediately judging or giving advice, communicating concern, asking appropriate questions, maintaining professional boundaries and connecting the student with the appropriate mental-health or institutional support,” Bhansali said.
“When teachers understand that distress is not necessarily a sign of laziness, lack of motivation or poor academic ability, they are more likely to respond with empathy rather than criticism,” Bhansali said.
Faculty Members Are Not Pschycologists
Faculty members should not be expected to take on the role of mental-health professionals. “What we should never expect teachers to do is diagnose, treat or counsel students beyond their professional competence,” she said.
“A teacher should not decide whether a student has depression, an anxiety disorder or any other psychiatric condition. They should also not promise that they will keep serious safety concerns completely secret.” Instead, the teacher’s role as a link between the student and professional support.
Confidentiality is particularly important because students are more likely to disclose difficulties when they feel their privacy will be respected. “Teachers need to understand the difference between privacy and secrecy. A student may share something personal with a teacher, and that information should not become common knowledge among other faculty or students,” she said.
“For example: ‘I will respect your privacy, but if I believe that you or someone else is at serious risk of harm, I may need to involve the appropriate person to keep you safe,'” she added.
For routine emotional or psychological concerns, Bhansali said referral to the institution’s qualified counsellor or mental-health professional would generally be the appropriate step. Parents or guardians may need to be involved depending on the student’s age, the severity of the situation, institutional policy and the student’s safety.
Not Enough Counselling Centres
The Supreme Court task force also found that some institutional mechanisms existed largely on paper. Grievance-redressal systems were described in some institutions as ineffective, non-transparent or not sufficiently student-friendly.
“If we train a teacher to recognise distress but there is no accessible counsellor, no clear referral pathway, no crisis-response protocol, no mechanism for follow-up and no institutional culture that allows students to seek help without stigma, then we have identified the problem without providing a meaningful solution,” Bhansali said.
That approach also reflects the task force’s broader findings: preventing student suicide cannot depend on counselling alone. Institutions may also need functional grievance systems, effective anti-ragging mechanisms, academic and financial support, accessible campuses and a culture in which students feel safe seeking help.
Suicide Prevention. News 18. 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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Ask News18India recorded 14,488 student deaths by suicide in 2024. This represents a 4.3% increase from the 13,892 student deaths recorded in 2023, even as the country’s overall suicide count fell marginally from 1,71,418 to 1,70,746 during the same period.
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Sukanya Nandy is a sub-editor at News18.com. She has been reporting for the education and careers section of the website since 2021. She completed her graduation in English followed Journalism and Mas…Read More
September 15, 2026, 15:19 IST
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