In a bid to mitigate stress among students and prevent suicides, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has decided to start counselling parents and assessing mental health of students during the admission process.
Relaxing mandatory attendance is also planned to reduce the stress among BTech students. The institute also said that it will take retests for students who miss so that the UG engineering students are reduced of the burden.
What is IIT Madras planning to reduce stress among students, check mental health?
While talking about how the institute plans to mitigate stress among students, Professor Sathyanarayana N Gummadi, dean (students), IIT Madras said: “Last year, the National Health Authority did a comprehensive mental wellness screening programme. A similar one will be conducted every year including for the newly admitted students.”
Counsellors are already visiting every hostel and department at fixed times to check and talk to students, the professor added.
On the basis of a proposal, the board of governors of the institute has approved the appointment of Dr Tilakavathi as student ombudsman. A time-bound grievance redressal mechanism is also set up, he said.
In addition, an anonymous suggestion box is also installed at the administration office of IIT Madras where students can lodge their grievances directly to the director of the institute.
To promote mental health among students, IIT Madras has also started a wellness session series for its students which was conducted earlier this year with the support of the National Health Mission, Department of Health and Family Welfare and Tamil Nadu government.
Meanwhile, this year, at least seven students from IITs across the country have died by suicide. IIT Madras witnessed four deaths in 2023.
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First published on: 25-11-2023 at 10:04 IST
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