No Student Can Be Punished for Scholarship Delays, Vacancies Must Be Filled

In a landmark ruling aimed at addressing India’s growing student mental health crisis, the Supreme Court has directed all higher education institutions (HEIs) to adopt comprehensive and enforceable measures for suicide prevention, emotional well-being, and inclusive campus support systems.

The court made it clear that mental health cannot remain a “soft concern” or a token policy item. Rather, it should be a central institutional responsibility. In its key instructions, the highest court has directed universities and colleges to fill teacher vacancies that have been pending for a long time, to disburse SC/ST/OBC scholarships on time and not to penalise students for administrative failures.

Significantly, the court has stated that a student cannot be physically turned out from the hostel, disallowed to take the exam or be stripped off the academic programme on the grounds of delayed scholarship payments which is the unreasonable practice that has been putting financially and emotionally vulnerable students in distress for a long time. Such protections will also be extended to online students, thus, enhancing the concept of institutional accountability.

Why the Court Intervened

The instructions to the National Task Force on mental health in higher education (HEI) were based on findings from a survey it had conducted that revealed deep systemic gaps. Six out of ten HEIs reportedly do not have a trained mental health professional, while three out of four do not have a full time counsellor, says the Survey. Even if support is available, students do not seek help due to stigma, mistrust, and fear of getting an academic penalty.

The survey also revealed that students belonging to marginalized groups, scheduled castes/scheduled tribes/other backward classes, minorities, persons with disabilities, transgender students, women, and first generation students, are under more pressure than others. On top of the discrimination, ragging, recess by family, chronic shortage of faculty, and extreme financial insecurity, the heavy academic workload worsens their situation.

Mandatory Reporting, Real Accountability

The Supreme Court has ruled that all student deaths of unnatural causes are to be reported to the police immediately, without exception. It doesn't matter if the student lived far away or took courses online or offline. Educational institutions will have to regularly activate anti, ragging and anti, harassment cells in order to be fully compliant; the cells can no longer be mere legal formalities.

In addition to these measures, universities and colleges have been guided to recruit counsellors without delay, team up with external mental health experts, and carry out regular stress audits on campus in order to spot the main causes of pressure well ahead of any tragedies.

A Shift from Blame to Reform

In a rare moment of institutional introspection, the court criticised universities for forming “token committees” after suicides while avoiding responsibility. It was suggested that institutions should consider what they termed as "institutionally normalised stressors", overpacked curricula, departments with insufficient staff, exclusionary practices, and bureaucratic cruelty.

This decision is a landmark shift: away from blaming students as individuals and towards acknowledging mental health as a systemic problem. If these measures are truly put into practice, Indian campuses could be fundamentally changed. They will no longer be known as pressure cookers but as places where students can be safe, treated with dignity, and really learn.