IISc removing ceiling fans to prevent suicides, students think it might not be effective. Here's why

After four suicides in 2021 and two in 2020 at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru, earlier this week, students were informed that a ceiling fan-removal drive has been launched by the institute in the U-block hostel and they are being replaced by wall-mounted fans instead.

This comes after the institute commenced restricting student access to terraces and rooftops.

It was stated in an internal email addressed to the Student Council's Chairman that within the next 15 days all rooms in all the hostels will be covered. This was indicated by the personnel charged with the work. The said email also shared the results of a student poll, in which, 90 per cent did not want the ceiling fans to be removed while six per cent did not care. Also, 88 per cent of the students were under the impression that the removal of ceiling fans will not help curb student suicide. As many as 305 students participated in the poll.  

“Taking this poll as a sample indicator of the entire student population of the IISc, it is clear that currently, the student community does not wish to proceed with this installation. They see no worth in its value proposition,” the letter stated as per a report in The Deccan Herald.

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Claiming that the Wellness Centre, set up to provide mental health support, was not effective, students also stated that all the above measures were being taken while the real cause of the problem was being ignored, that is, mental health support for students on campus.  

When an attempt was made to seek clarity from officials of the institute, the response received was, “Your questions require inputs from different sources. Once we get the information, we will send responses to you.”