Every higher educational institution (HEI) will be required to create an apparatus, including a mental health and well-being centre and helpline for registering student grievances, under a draft policy prepared by the University Grants Commission (UGC).

Based on a Supreme Court directive, the UGC has readied the Uniform Policy on Mental Health and Well-being in HEIs and sought feedback from the public till January 28.

According to the draft policy, HEIs will have to set up mental health and well-being centres where students can access counselling by experts in privacy. The institutions will have to appoint or depute faculty mentors for counselling at the recommended ratio of one counsellor for every 500 students.

The HEIs will have to train and depute students for peer support to help identify early signs of distress, with a proposed ratio of one peer supporter for every 100 students.

Each HEI will have to set up a mental health and well-being monitoring committee and put out details about its members on its website.

The policy said one in 10 people in India had mental health issues, with 7.3 per cent of youths aged between 18 and 29 years suffering from severe psychiatric conditions. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 7.6 per cent of suicides are committed by students.

Prof. Rajeev Kumar, a retired faculty member of Jawaharlal Nehru University, described the UGC guidelines as more ritualistic and less effective. He said mental health in academics could not be understood by UGC “babus” and academics associated with government bodies.

“In most of the cases, the reason for mental health issues is non-satisfactory academic performance. The sole basis of suicide prevention is early detection. This could be done by a faculty member in charge or the course instructor,” he said.

Dheeraj Singh, an IIT Kanpur alumnus and a diversity activist, and lawyer Ravi Bhardwaj welcomed the UGC’s initiative to make it obligatory for HEIs to put in place facilities to address mental health issues.

“This policy is a necessary and long-overdue step, but it is not sufficient by itself. It creates the right framework — what will determine its impact is rigorous implementation, independent monitoring, and consequences for non-compliance,” Singh said.

“This is a landmark shift in Indian education law. By moving mental health support from a discretionary initiative to a mandated institutional responsibility, the UGC is codifying a clear ‘duty of care’ for HEIs,” Bhardwaj said.