New Delhi, Sept. 22 -- At least 53 students died across the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) between the 2020-21 and 2024-25 academic years, with more than half belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC), according to official data submitted by the institutes.
The figures include 45 suicides and eight deaths classified as unnatural. The data was compiled from responses submitted by individual IITs to the Department of Higher Education. The number of reported student deaths increased during the five-year period. IITs recorded five deaths in 2020-21, six each in 2021-22 and 2022-23, followed by 17 in 2023-24 and 19 in 2024-25. Overall, suicides accounted for 84.9% of the reported deaths. The data was sought by the Department of Higher Education in response to a provisionally admitted Lok Sabha starred question related to student suicides in IITs and other centrally funded educational institutions. The ministry had asked the institutes to provide details in December 2025, but the information was not subsequently tabled in Parliament.
The figures also show a sharp rise in deaths during the last two years covered by the data. Of the 19 deaths reported in 2024-25, six were classified as unnatural deaths, according to the submissions made by the IITs. More than half of the students who died during the period were from SC, ST and OBC categories. The report notes that the proportion was broadly in line with the intake of students from these groups across the government-run institutions.
The data comes amid renewed attention on student welfare and mental health at IITs following a series of student deaths. The issue has also prompted discussions around institutional support systems, access to mental healthcare and measures to address concerns faced by students. The latest figures provide a five-year snapshot of student deaths across IITs, while the data itself does not establish a single cause or explain the circumstances behind individual cases.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.