Mental Health and Well-Being of College Students in India

College life seems exciting if looked at from outside, but what is it actually like from the inside and for the people living inside it? The transition from school to college life could be exciting for an individual but it also brings along a lot of challenges, one of those is mental health.

They may start feeling the pressure of succeeding in their career and being responsible, press on them a lot harder. Along with that, the stress of examinations, assignments, uncertainty about their career and adjusting to a completely new environment of a college can also weigh of their mental health heavily.

Thus, the well-being of student’s mental health has become an important issue for institutions and policy makers in India. So the Supreme Court had conducted a national survey about student’s mental health and well-being, and appointed National Task Force to examine the condition of student’s mental health and see what support systems are available to them.

The National Task Force and its Purpose

The Supreme Court of India appointed a National Task Force (NTF) to address mental health issues and prevent suicides among students pursuing higher education, on 24 March 2025. The chairman of that force was the retired judge of Supreme Court, Justice S. Ravindra Bhat.

The task force was given 3 major responsibilities, to identify major factors contributing to the student suicides, examine existing laws, policies, and institutional support systems, and recommend changes that should be made to bring about an improve in student mental health and well-being and strengthen preventive measures. Its job was to look beyond individual mental health struggles, and look at the broader pattern and examine it.

How the Nationwide Survey Was Conducted?

The Task force had launched 5 nationwide online surveys in August of 2025. The surveys collected responses from five groups, which included: students, faculty member, parents, mental health service providers and the general public. Higher education institutions were also asked to provide some information about the particular issues on a separate survey.

The surveys concluded in December of 2025. The task force had also conducted field visit and stakeholder consultations to learn about regional differences and experiences that the survey might not have been able to capture.

The Ministry of education recorded 12.88 lakhs+ responses from students, 2.26 lakh+ from parents, 1.6 lakhs+ from faculty members, 6,800+ from mental health service providers, 2.25 lakhs+ from general public and 16,750 from higher education institutions. The complete report was to be submitted to Supreme Court on October 31, 2026 but the task force was granted an extension by the Supreme Court.

However, the preliminary findings involved data recorded responses from 2.43 lakh, and the findings were publicly revealed on September 29, 2026.

What the Survey Revealed about Students?

The survey that collected responses from 2.43 lakh students revealed these mental health struggles:

• 35% of the students experienced a sense of not belonging on campus of various degrees.
• 15% of the students experienced prolonged emotional distress. The students talked about how they felt in the last 6 months and expressed how they felt overwhelmed, distressed and experienced consistent anxiety through multiple weeks.
• 9% of the students said they experienced suicidal thought often or very often. This where students need accessible mental health support and effective preventive measures the most.
• 56% of the students said that they trust their institution’s administration to handle serious issues fairly. This expresses the kind of trust students have in their institutions to protect them from things like ragging, sexual harassment, caste-based discrimination and more. However 43% of the students lacked that trust and confidence in their college administration. This lack of trust particularly consisted of SC, ST and OBC students who were also the first ones in their family line to go to a university.
• 32% of the students said that their institutions did not offer counseling services.

We need to understand that the things mentioned in these listings are not normal. Prolonged distress is different from short-term stress related to an exam or assignment. However we need to be aware that not every student is prone to or experiences these mental health difficulties.

Factors Affecting Student’s Mental Health in Colleges:

• One of these issues is academic pressure and competition. Students have to face examination schedules, assignment deadlines, compete for grades, placements and postgraduate admissions as well in many cases, which can altogether, add lots of pressure on the students.
• Another challenge faced by students is financial difficulties as there are many students that come from underprivileged backgrounds. So for such students managing tuition fees, accommodation budget, and daily expenses can feel mentally draining. Some students even though might be able to get scholarships, there’s still an uncertainty to it.
• Some students may also face exclusion or discrimination based on multiple factors such as caste, religion, gender etc., which can also affect their mental health.
• When students move from being a school student to being a college student, they are required to become more independent, adjust to different teaching methods, living arrangements, and social environments. Some of them even have to move away from home, which may lead them to feeling lonely and making it tough to build new relationships.
• Students also have to deal with the uncertainty of their career. They are not sure if they will have a successful career or not, and the pressure to secure an internship or placements with good packages also puts pressure on their mental health.

Are Colleges Equipped to Help Students?

When it comes to taking care of the mental health of students, institutions play a big role as most students spend a considerable amount of time on college campuses. So having a strong support system where they spend much of their time could be a great step for working towards these mental health issues.

Having trained professionals on the campus itself could make it easier for the students to access the support they need. It’s not just the trained professionals but also the faculty members that can contribute to a change by recognizing the signs of distress and creating a safe, non-judgmental and comfortable environment where students can easily ask for help. It’s also necessary for institutions to have emergency mental health services available for students, with clear procedures.

The task force’s report revealed that from 2,119 higher education institutions, 35% said they provide access to mental health services, 31% said they don’t, 34% said they planned to in the future. So a total of 73% of these institutions did not have mental health services available.

So at the end we want to say that education should not be measured by just grades, exam results and placements, but also if the students there feel safe, included and supported. Mental health support should be easily accessible for students since the start and not only when something serious happens. There are multiple places and people that play a role in a student’s mental health and well-being. This survey gives us a peak into what may be happening and where improvements can be made by institutions to bring about a better change in the mental health and well-being of students.