Govt trying to remove fear of Education System burden: Dharmendra Pradhan

Many students struggle with the pressure that the current education system puts on them, which has prompted the government to try and “remove fear from the minds of children” by redesigning the curriculum from the foundational stage, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Monday.

Without directly referring to the recent cases of alleged deaths by suicides at Bombay and Madras campuses of the IITs, Pradhan said there is nothing more “worrying and agonising” than such “tragic incidents”.

Speaking at the launch of the learning-teaching material for



foundational stage classes in schools, he said, “Why do such tragic incidents happen? There can be nothing more shameful, worrying and hurtful for any person than receiving tragic news from any hostel that a student did something due to pressure.”

IIT Bombay chemical engineering student Darshan Solanki allegedly died by suicide on January 12. A day later, Stephen Sunny, an MS research scholar at IIT Madras, was found dead in his hostel room.

In December 2022, coaching hub Kota in Rajasthan had registered several cases of alleged deaths by suicide and sparked concern.