The National Task Force on Student Mental Health and Suicide Prevention in Higher Educational Institutions (NTF) submit its Interim Report to the Supreme Court of India on November 6 2025 and awaits cognizance from the Court.
In order to increase responses, the NTF has extended the final deadline for filling up online surveys to 15th December 2025. This extension also applies to all the individual stakeholders – students, faculty, parents and mental health service professionals. HEIs are requested to help the NTF by volunteering to fill out the surveys meant for them, where confidentiality and anonymity are guaranteed.
National Task Force appeals to all stakeholders including State Nodal Officers to make concerted efforts for participation in the Survey in greater numbers. The diversity of views and live experiences collected through this participatory process will play a critical role in shaping the final recommendations of the Task Force.
For more information and to participate, please visit: ntf.education.gov.in
The NTF, constituted in March 2025, launched a website as a central platform to gather perspectives from Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across the country on 8th August 2025. The NTF has been actively engaged in obtaining a range of information and diverse views from key stakeholders, through the online surveys, by actual field visits to select HEIs across the country, by hosting stake holder meetings, as well as by analysing existing national data, laws and policies and exploring relevant writings on matters relating to student mental health and wellbeing.
The approach of the NTF, reflecting its diverse composition, has been to examine the multiple determinants of student wellbeing – academic pressure, experiences of discrimination due to caste/tribe, religion, disability and gender/sexuality/transgender, and the stress of financial hardship, among others.
A key requirement for making recommendations by NTF is to have a robust evidentiary base, which is provided by the surveys from HEIs, and also from individuals – students, faculty, parents and mental health professionals. It is mandatory for HEIs to fill out the institute survey which asks for key information on a range of parameters such as the diversity of faculty, vacant positions, student composition, nature of provisions for mental health services, details about various committees and cells of relevance to students as well as inputs on challenges and suggestions on strengthening student support systems. The appeal to HEIs have been made through official letters by Department of Higher Education and follow up from the NTF, regulatory bodies etc.
