New Delhi: A University Grants Commission (UGC) panel has recommended a counsellor for every 500 students in larger educational institutes and a counsellor for every 100 students in smaller ones, along with dedicated mental health and well-being centres, and regular awareness programmes on stress, anxiety, and depression, for strengthening student-support services.
These recommendations are among the UGC panel’s draft guidelines— ‘UGC Guidelines on Uniform Policy on Mental Health & Well-Being for Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs)’—for colleges and universities, and the report was released Wednesday, seeking public consultation.
The UGC formed the committee, headed by Rajinder K. Dhamija, the director of the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS), Delhi, after the Supreme Court’s 25 July 2025 directions on framing a uniform mental health policy for India’s higher educational institutes in Sukdeb Saha vs. State of Andhra Pradesh.
The draft norms have come, as the Supreme Court-constituted National Task Force strengthens mental health support in higher educational institutes in the country amid rising student suicides. According to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2023 report, 13,892 students died by suicide in 2023—the highest in a decade and nearly 8.1 percent of all deaths by suicide in India.
Counsellors & helplines
Under the draft norms, the UGC has been entrusted with a central role in monitoring and supporting the implementation of a uniform mental health policy in all HEIs.
It will track progress through a dedicated portal, ‘MANASSETU’, collecting annual reports and feedback to assess whether the objectives, such as improving student well-being and reducing attrition or loss of life, are being met.
The UGC will also support continuous capacity-building initiatives, recognise evidence-based interventions, and collaborate with the National Research Foundation (NRF), ICMR, ICSSR, and WHO, among others, to develop effective strategies and interventions.
By reviewing policies annually and identifying challenges in their adoption, the UGC will also ensure that mental health policies translate into tangible outcomes on the ground.
Each HEI is expected to establish a dedicated Mental Health & Well-being Centre (MHWBC), with appropriate infrastructure to provide private and accessible services.
Institutes must appoint mental health professionals, such as psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, psychiatric social workers, psychiatric nurses, faculty mentors, and peer supporters.
For smaller institutes with 100 or more students, at least one qualified mental health professional should be appointed. For larger ones, the recommended ratio is one counsellor per 500 students and one peer supporter per 100 students.
At present, there is no UGC norm on these ratios. The guidelines seek to standardise support across all HEIs. HEIs are recommended to run 24×7 helplines, link with national programmes, such as the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) and District Mental Health Programmes (DMHP), and conduct awareness, sensitisation, and life skill programmes for students, faculty, and families.
Readiness & crisis management
The draft guidelines urge HEIs to develop strong “readiness and crisis management mechanisms” to safeguard student mental health.
Under “suicide prevention infrastructure”, peers, faculty, and staff should be trained to recognise “signs of distress in behaviour and communication, such as abrupt changes in interaction, behaviour or class attendance”.
Those at risk must be approached carefully, avoiding “probing, leading or provocative statements/ questions,” and reported to the “head/faculty/warden/in-charge or mental health professional.”
According to the draft guidelines, the institutes must ensure strict compliance with “crisis intervention protocol, as laid down by the guidelines, including appropriate referral to the tertiary care service and communicating the emergency to the family/person of contact”.
For “risk assessment”, representatives must identify early warning signs, such as “social withdrawal, absenteeism, behavioural changes such as agitation, or increased risk-taking”, subsequently providing “calm, empathetic listening without judgment”.
Students at moderate or high risk must be referred immediately to “MHP or emergency services”.
During crises, parents must be informed, meetings arranged at appropriate locations, and incidents recorded, while post-crisis support includes “structured follow-up counselling (minimum three sessions)”, “peer or faculty mentorship support”, and reintegration plans, according to the draft norms.
UGC Chairperson Vineet Joshi, in the draft guidelines, said: “These guidelines will inspire every HEIs build a sustainable and inclusive mental health and well-being ecosystem, one that nurtures not only academic excellence but also emotional resilience, mental health, social connectedness, and overall well-being of all stakeholders.”
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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