The tragic death of IIT-Bombay student Sahil Wakode has once again brought the spotlight on how educational institutions respond to student distress, while highlighting an alarming national trend. According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, even as India’s overall suicide rate marginally declined from 12.3 to 12.2 per lakh population, student suicides rose from 13,891 in 2023 to 14,448 in 2024.
While public discourse often defaults to blaming "exam pressure," mental health experts warn against such a simplified narrative. Writing in The Lancet Regional Health—Southeast Asia, researchers emphasized that NCRB data shows academic failure is far from the primary driver of student suicides.