MUMBAI: Student wellbeing appears to deteriorate steadily as children move into the senior school years, with happiness, confidence and motivation all declining sharply by grade 12, says the IC3 Institute’s Student Well-being Pulse Report 2026.The report, based on responses from 8,515 students across India, found that overall wellbeing fell from 62% in grade 8 to 43% in grade 12. Happiness dropped from 65% to 48%, while confidence declined from 64% to 47%. Motivation, too, fell from 64% in grade 8 to 49% by grade 12. The report was released during IC3’s two-day conference in Mumbai on Thursday.The findings also point to a worrying gap between the stress students experience and the support they seek. Nearly two-thirds, said they preferred to deal with stress on their own. Friends were the most common source of support, cited by 49% of students, followed by family members at 44%. Only 13% said they turned to teachers and just 6% approached school counsellors.“There must be some emotional spine in the school system,” said Naina Kapoor, director of Delhi Public School, Dwarka. “Connection must come before the curriculum. A subject becomes a student’s favourite because you connected well with the faculty who taught that.”This is despite 52% of students saying they believed therapy or counselling could be helpful. The decline in wellbeing was most pronounced in grades 11 and 12, when students are also navigating board examinations, college admissions and career choices. Anxiety, frustration, loneliness, sadness and low energy were reported more frequently among older students. Only 54% of all respondents said they knew a trusted adult they could talk to; among students in grades 11 and 12, the figure fell to 49%.Career uncertainty emerged as another significant source of anxiety. One in two students said they received structured career counselling in school, while 33% said unclear career guidance made them anxious. Access varied sharply, with 61-62% of students in Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand reporting access to structured counselling, compared with below-national-average levels in Bihar and Kerala.Sleep is another concern: 55% students said they slept six hours or less a night, with academic pressure, overthinking and screen use among the reasons cited. Music was the most common coping mechanism, used by 69% of students, while 57% relied on physical activity.The report also found gender differences. Girls reported higher levels of anxiety, frustration and sadness, along with lower calmness and confidence. Only 52% of girls said they felt confident often or always, compared with 64% of boys. Career-related anxiety was reported by 35% of girls and 31% of boys.
