Students, staff in HEIs across TN to participate in mental health survey
The portal was launched against the backdrop of the recent Supreme Court, which had emphasised the urgent need to address mental health concerns among students in HEIs
CHENNAI: The students and faculty members in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) across Tamil Nadu will be participating in a national survey created by National Task Force (NTF) to address mental health concerns of students, and prevent suicides in the colleges. Accordingly, the NTF recently launched its dedicated website on student mental health and suicide prevention in HEIs
The portal was launched against the backdrop of the recent Supreme Court, which had emphasised the urgent need to address mental health concerns among students in HEIs.
The apex court had constituted a NTF under the chairpersonship of Justice (retired) S Ravindra Bhat, which also included experts from various domains. Its mandate is to deliberate on students’ mental health issues, recommend preventive measures to prevent suicides, and strengthen support systems across HEIs.
The Higher Education Department has issued an order to the HEIs in the state to participate in the survey. A senior official from the department said, “Stakeholders must visit NTF’s website (https://ntf.education.gov.in), which serves as a central platform to gather diverse perspectives. Principals of government, government aided and self-financing Engineering colleges, Polytechnic colleges, special institutions, arts and science colleges besides vocational institutions have to make arrangements to publicise this to enable greater participation. They must also disseminate the website link, survey information among students and encourage them to participate in the survey.”
The newly launched portal serves as a central platform to gather diverse perspectives not only from students of HEIs and faculty members but also parents, mental health service providers and heads of the institutions. It hosts structured questionnaires (in English and Hindi), designed to collect anonymous and confidential inputs on topics including campus environment, inclusivity and belongingness, sources of distress and systemic discrimination, existing support systems and grievance redressal mechanisms and suggestions for improving students’ well-being.
“Additionally, a specialised institutional survey has been made available for the heads of HEIs to submit data on reported suicides, preventive mechanisms, and student support infrastructure in their respective institutions,” he added.
