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New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has urged colleges and universities to incorporate stress management lessons into their curriculum to equip students with the skills to handle challenging situations in the future. The minister’s remarks came amid outrage over the death of an Ernst & Young (EY) employee, who died of a heart attack allegedly following extreme work pressure.
Sitharaman also stated that the employee’s death was due to an inability to handle workplace pressure.
While addressing an event at a private medical college on Saturday, the Finance Minister cited the incident, though she refrained from naming either the victim or the company, according to news agency PTI.
She said “…was discussing an issue that has been in newspapers for the past two days. Our children go to colleges and universities for education and come out with flying colours. A company, without mentioning its name, its a partnership. There, a woman who had studied CA well, unable to cope with the work pressure two-three days ago we received a news — she died, unable to cope with the pressure”.
She emphasised the broader role that educational institutions should play, stating that while they provide quality education and secure jobs for students through campus recruitment, they must also impart values and life skills typically learned within families.
The Minister said that alongside academic training, institutions should focus on teaching resilience, mental well-being, and work-life balance, which are essential for navigating the pressures of demanding careers.
“What should families teach–whatever you study and the job you do, you should have the inner strength to handle that pressure and this can be achieved through divinity only.
“Believe in God, we need to have God’s grace. Seek God, learn good discipline. Your Atma shakthi (inner strength) will grow only from this. The inner strength will come only with growing Atma shakti. … Educational institutions should bring in divinity and spirituality. Then only will our children get inner strength. It will help in the progress of them and the country. That is my strong belief,” the minister added.
The Union Minister’s comments drew sharp criticism from Congress, which accused her of “victim-blaming”.
Anna Sebastian Perayil, a 26-year-old Chartered Accountant at the Pune office of EY, one of the Big Four accounting firms, died in July due to a heart attack. Her family alleged that she had been burdened with an extreme amount of work, making it impossible for her to sleep or eat properly.
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