IITs' mental health, anti-discrimination initiatives: Students, counsellors react

The IIT Council Meeting discussed ways to prevent caste discrimination and reduce mental pressure among students 
Here's what they say | (Pic: EdexLive)
Here's what they say | (Pic: EdexLive)

The 55th Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Council meeting took place at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhubhaneshwar campus on April 18. Ensuring that students receive help to tackle academic pressure and maintaining zero tolerance for any kind of discrimination were among the key points discussed in the meeting, which had convened after a gap of two years. 

Over the past few months, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have been in the news frequently and not always for the right reasons. From Darshan Solanki to Sachin Jain, IITs have seen several student suicides due to alleged caste discrimination and mistreatment by students, which has resulted in a severe public backlash against the institutions. These issues seemed to be taken into cognizance by the IIT Council, with the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan expressing the ministry’s concern over such instances. 

The council meeting, which was presided by Union Minister Dharmesh Pradhan and included directors and chairpersons of all 23 IITs, resolved to set up “mental wellness centres” on IIT campuses and psychological counsellors to help students tackle mental issues. To help alleviate academic pressure, it was decided that multiple exit options must be introduced, along with a proper grievance redressal system. Further, the minister urged the directors to be proactive in providing support mechanisms to ensure that the SC/ST students are empowered.  

Council meeting discussions must translate to change on the ground, students say
Reacting to these discussions, IIT Bombay’s Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC IIT-B), a student body representing SC/ST and OBC students, stated that these discussions would essentially mean nothing if the IIT administration would not act on them. 

“Every year, the IIT Council convenes, discusses, makes resolutions and disperses until next year — without making any significant impact on student life,” a spokesperson of APPSC, on the condition of anonymity, states. He further states that none of these resolutions has a timeline nor is there someone who holds the IITs accountable for not implementing these resolutions. 

The spokesperson stresses the need for an accountability system that pressures the IITs into implementing the support systems they claim to introduce. Further, he also says that there needs to be a check on how IITs treat their students and implement affirmative action in admissions or while hiring faculty. “The Ministry of Education, or an independent watchdog organisation, must ideally look into these matters and report their findings. However, this is not being done. This is why you see so many cases of caste discrimination, academic pressure, ill-treatment of students by the faculty and vacancies when it comes to SC/ST posts. Without accountability, IITs only have discussions — but never really change,” the spokesperson says.  

Discussions on mental health and caste long overdue
While a few students remain pessimistic about these announcements, there is some optimism among others and mental health professionals that caste discrimination and mental pressure in IITs are finally being addressed. For a very long time, says Sam*, a PhD student from IIT Delhi, IITs have been mostly “apolitical” unlike central universities. 

The student further says, “This is a problem across all technical institutions across India. Student unions and political organisations are barred from having branches in IITs and students are discouraged from being involved in political activity.” He further states that for this reason, IIT students remain mostly uninformed about matters like caste discrimination or mental health. 

“These conversations were never had on IIT campuses before. Now, the Education Minister acknowledging casteism and mental pressure of students at IITs and directing directors to tackle them is a necessary and welcome act,” the PhD student further stated. 

“With this acknowledgement of mental health and student suicides, and the measures discussed to prevent them, the students will now know that there is help available,” says Dr Saras Bhaskar, Founder of Professional Counselling Services, Chennai.

Discrimination affects mental health
Echoing the previous statements, Dr Poorna Chandrika, Professor and Former Director at the Institute of Mental Health, Chennai, calls caste “an elephant in the room” that “should be discussed at all costs” to prevent discrimination.

“A person from a lowered social and economic status, or a person who faces discrimination their whole life, is extremely susceptible to mental illness and pressure,” she the professor, explaining the need for caste sensitivity in mental care. 

The mental health professional further states that everyone, particularly the students, must be educated about caste in India and the history of icons like Dr BR Ambedkar, to raise more awareness on caste issues among students. 

Speaking on the need for more awareness, Sam* says, “General category students in IITs often treat the reserved category (SC, ST and OBC) students as inferior. They think that caste-based reservations are unfair to them, which causes them to lash out against their marginalised counterparts in harmful ways. A few professors and faculty members also discriminate against these students in a similar fashion. Won’t this affect the mental health of these students?” 

Sam further suggests that the general category students and faculty being taught about the purpose and history of reservations would bring a shift in their perspective. While he welcomes the education minister directing IIT directors to set up grievance redressal systems, he also believes that education and awareness would be effective in preventing discrimination.

Empathy and sensitisation extremely important
The common consensus among students and mental health professionals is that IITs must build empathy among students and faculty, and sensitise them to societal and psychological issues. 

“With the rise in suicide cases in IITs, the students become accustomed to them and don’t treat them as an anomaly. This results in a lack of compassion for those suffering mentally,” says Dr Saras Bhaskar. She says that the attitude of the faculty toward mental illness must change. “There is a sense of hesitation among students to see a therapist or seek professional help where does the quote end?

Dr Poorna Chandrika too terms this desensitisation as a defence mechanism and says that students and faculty members must be trained to identify warning signs. “Gatekeeper training sessions must be held, so that students who are potentially suicidal can be identified and given the help they need,” she explains. 

Empathy would also prevent discrimination, she says. “If students learn to understand what background another student comes from, they can be more inclusive towards each other,” she continues. The professional also further stresses the need for compassion in IITs and says, “With compassion, a culture of asking for help and giving help will be born.”

Mental health professionals further say that students must be given space to cope with failure. They state the importance of giving them room for failure or average performance amidst the highly competitive atmosphere of the IITs. “They need to be taught that it is normal to fail and that it is not the end of the world,” states Dr Poorna Chandra. Along with empathy, they say that students must be taught to imbibe resilience and hope in the face of failure as well. 

Need for consistency, scope to do more
While the IIT Council Meeting’s decisions have been largely welcomed by the students and mental health professionals, they think that IITs could do more. 

“There needs to be a Wellness Curriculum in place, individually customised to each IIT. Under this, students must be taught interpersonal skills, personal relations, emotional intelligence and empathy,” suggests Dr Saras Bhaskar, and continues that these lessons would impact them greatly in their personal lives. She also suggests that the mental wellness centres and counsellors maintain confidentiality 

Dr Poorna Chandrika suggests that the plan to set up mental wellness centres and have counsellors on board must be executed on similar lines as the Tamil Nadu Government’s Mananala Nallaatharavu Mandram (MaNaM) Initiative. The MaNaM initiative is a psychological support for medical students, designed to prevent suicides and suicidal tendencies among them through peer counsellors. She also suggests that every IIT must have a helpline number for psychological issues, similar to the one recently introduced for IIT Madras by the Tamil Nadu Government.

The need, says Sam, is also to ensure consistent implementation of these steps across IITs. “We need more such progressive reforms in all IITs,” he said. 

APPSC, on the other hand, thinks that students must be encouraged to seek therapy irrespective of the presence of mental wellness centres. “The course fee for IITs includes health insurance coverage. The administration must give students a small part of that amount so that they can seek therapy and other psychiatric help,” says the spokesperson. 

EdexLive has reached out to the IIT Council and IITs for an official comment on the meeting. The story will be updated following their response.

*name changed to maintain anonymity 

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