The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) will offer religious counselling and spiritual teaching programmes to help students overcome psychological stress, an official said Monday.

"Within two-three days we will launch such programmes," AMU's official spokesperson Rahat Abrar told IANS on telephone from Aligarh, some 300 km from Lucknow.

"On the directions of Vice Chancellor P.K. Abdul Azis, we have roped in religious leaders to help students overcome their anxieties and mental stress," he added.

The varsity has also set up a counselling cell which will be run by faculty members of the theology, psychology and psychiatry departments.

Recent incidents of suicides, attempted suicides and running away from the university brought to the fore the psychological problems faced by the student community, an official said.