IIT Madras student commits suicide in hostel - Deccan Chronicle

IIT Madras student commits suicide in hostel
DECCAN CHRONICLE.
PublishedJan 30, 2019, 2:30 am IST


According to the police, on Tuesday morning, Gopal's friend first informed the IIT management.

The information was passed on to the Kotturpuram police, who rushed to the spot and broke open the door only to find him hanging dead from the ceiling. (Representational Image)


Chennai: A student of IIT Madras allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in his hostel room at IIT campus on Monday night. The deceased, G.Gopal Babu, 26 was a native of Uttar Pradesh and a son of Guru Chand. He was pursuing first-year M.tech programme . According to the police, on Tuesday morning, Gopal's friend first informed the IIT management.

The information was passed on to the Kotturpuram police, who rushed to the spot and broke open the door only to find him hanging dead from the ceiling.

Probably he ended his life due to depression, said sources.

IIT-Madras records 2 suicides in a month; are students at country's premier institutes a stressed lot? - IB Times

IIT-Madras records 2 suicides in a month; are students at country's premier institutes a stressed lot?

There has been an alarming increase in the cases of suicides by students at IITs across the country since last year.

By : Bismah Malik

Jan 29, 2019 11:00 IST

Depressed over failing to crack Army exams; Agra man live stream suicide on FacebookCreative Commons

Gopal Babu, a student of Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M), committed suicide by hanging himself inside his hostel room on Monday, January, 28. Gopal, who hailed from Uttar Pradesh, was a student of MTech first year.

The police told PTI that the college authorities informed them about the incident after finding Gopal's body inside his room in Brahmaputra hostel. This is the second such incident of suicide at the premier institute of the country in a month.

On January 1, a 25-year-old PhD scholar, Ranjana Kumari from Jharkhand, had also committed suicide by hanging herself inside her hostel room.

Ranjana was studying metallurgy and metals engineering at IIT-M. The hostel authorities spotted her body after her parents enquired about her when she didn't pick up her phone.

The police later initiated an investigation as the immediate cause of the suicide couldn't be known,

In September 2018, the IIT-M had reported another student suicide when a 23-year-old student from Kerala, Shahal Kormath, was found hanging inside her hostel room.

The police later found out that Shahal, who was studying oceanography at IIT-M, feared that she may not be able to appear in her exams due to the attendance shortage which led her to take the extreme step.

Why are students at premier Indian institutes of India committing suicides?

The incidents of student suicides were also reported from IIT-Delhi, IIT-Kanpur and IIT-Guwahati last year.

The alarming increase in the suicide cases has led to the IIT council set up a task force which helps address the problem. The task force has also slammed the media for glorifying the IITs which puts the students there under a lot of stress. It noted that the students should also enjoy a certain level of freedom without a barrage of responsibilities.

An IIT-Kanpur committee constituted to look into the matter noted that the single room occupancy hostel rooms should be done away with and that students should share rooms. The IITs should also remove ceiling fans from hostel rooms and use pedestal fans.

Ironically, there have been little to no measures taken to address the psychological health issues that the students may be facing which forces them to take their lives in the first place.

IIT-Madras student commits suicide in his hostel room - Indian Express

Earlier this month, a woman PhD scholar from IIT-M's metallurgy department allegedly committed suicide in her hostel room.


Published: 29th January 2019 12:53 AM | Last Updated: 29th January 2019 04:09 AM | A+A A-


IIT Madras (File Photo)
By PTI

CHENNAI: A student of IIT-Madras allegedly committed suicide in his hostel room on Monday, police said.

Gopal Babu, a first year student of M.Tech programme, belonged to Uttar Pradesh. He committed suicide in his room in Brahmaputra hostel, they said.

"The institute informed us about the incident on Monday night. The body has been sent for post mortem," a senior officer told PTI.

Earlier this month, a woman PhD scholar from IIT-M's metallurgy department allegedly committed suicide in her hostel room.

IIT-Madras Student Commits Suicide In Hostel Room - NDTV

IIT-Madras Student Commits Suicide In Hostel Room

தமிழில் படிக்க

Gopal Babu, a first year student of M.Tech programme, belonged to Uttar Pradesh.

Chennai | Press Trust of India | Updated: January 29, 2019 05:03 IST

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The student committed suicide in his room in Brahmaputra hostel (Representational)

CHENNAI: 

A student of IIT-Madras allegedly committed suicide in his hostel room on Monday, police said.

Gopal Babu, a first year student of M.Tech programme, belonged to Uttar Pradesh. He committed suicide in his room in Brahmaputra hostel, they said.

"The institute informed us about the incident on Monday night. The body has been sent for post mortem," a senior officer told PTI.

COMMENT

Earlier this month, a woman PhD scholar from IIT-M's metallurgy department allegedly committed suicide in her hostel room.

Why Cheat India review: The Hashmi-starrer loses its plot somewhere in the middle

 By Priyanka Bhadani January 18, 2019 19:08 IST

Emraan Hashmi in 'Why Cheat India'

In one of the scenes in Why Cheat India, we see the faces of anxious 18 and 19-year-olds in an examination hall. As their worried parents wait outside, the teenagers place auspicious flowers on their desks before starting to write. In another, a father tells his son to stir the milk well before drinking, so that the nutrition powder is consumed well by his IIT aspirant son. In yet another, a teacher in a coaching class assigns seats to students from the new batches. The top-scorers get the front row; the under-performers are sent to the last. One student, relegated to the backbench, commits suicide.

Why Cheat India is a film that makes an effort to showcase the life of aspiring students of competitive exams (engineering and medical). In the portrayal of most aspects, like the stress and the nerves, the film is bang on. But, the movie, which features Kota (popular city in Rajasthan, the hub of coaching centres) in prominence, is not just about the distraught kids and their parents.

Rakesh Singh (Emraan Hashmi) aka Rocky is a scam artist. As someone who failed three attempts to finish his medical entrance exams, he works around the desperation of the aspirants and their parents. If he makes money through the rich by giving them an opportunity to qualify the entrance exams through fraudulence, he tricks the bright-but-deprived to become part of his racket by luring them with money.

Rocky is a Robin Hood figure for the students. He emphasises that the system is at fault and not him. He has suffered at its hands. He knows it, and so he manipulates. Hashmi, with his smug smile, is a perfect Rocky.

Parallel to this, the film focuses on the story of Satyendra ‘Sattu’ Dubey (Snighdadeep Chatterjee), one of the aspirants studying in Kota. Sattu’s father has taken a loan to coach him for his entrance exam and pins hope entirely on the outcome. The film opens with Sattu’s story as a voiceover, telling us about his daily routine. He studies and he sleeps. Even the toothpaste is brought to him by the housekeeper, as he does not want to waste time going to the market. These arrangements come at a price. Sattu has to pay off the loan for the tuitions, earn enough to pay back his father, and also think about his elder sister’s marriage. If he is studying hard to achieve all of it, Rocky has other plans for him. Sattu’s sister, played by debutante Shreya Dhanwantri, remains a constant in the story.

Greed is good, Rocky emphasises, channeling his inner Gordon Gekko. He expands his fraudulent business to MBAs, as he moves to Mumbai to explore the opportunity. The film raises the question—is he really the hero, or is he a villain trying too hard to become the hero? Somewhere in between, the narrative gets all confused.

From a shy and reticent small-town girl, Shreya soon shifts to a chic avatar. A film featuring Hashmi can’t conclude without a romantic angle, and kissing scenes (oh yes, there is one). But, towards the end, the film falters and becomes headless. It tries to sermonise, in balancing out the tropes of a masala film. The director and co-writer, Soumik Sen, loses the plot somewhere in between, making a good idea a tepidly handled one.

Film: Why Cheat India

Director: Soumik Sen

Starring: Emraan Hashmi, Shreya Dhanwanthari

Rating: 2.5/5

NEED TO SAVE VICTIMS OF KOTA EDUCATION SHOPS - Kashmir Times

NEED TO SAVE VICTIMS OF KOTA EDUCATION SHOPS

By Yashwardhan Joshi. Dated: 1/17/2019 2:45:38 PM

They come in the hope of cracking the IIT and medical entrance exams but crack themselves. Kota, once hailed as a Mecca for grooming students for competitive exams, has now become a Karbala for many an aspirant.
Data by the district administration reveal that 58 students attending coaching classes in Kota committed suicide between 2013 and 2017. But 2018 became the worst. As many as 19 students ended their lives in 2018 with at least four in just the dying week of last year.
But another data, released by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), record 100 suicide deaths in Kota in 2014, of which 45 were coaching students. A town, once known for its crisp cotton sarees, which became over the years the hub of coaching centres prepping engineering and medical aspirants, has now become the suicide capital of Rajasthan.
A town, where about 150,000 students study in the 150-odd coaching centres, has now itself become a subject of study. Many a study has blamed study stress, parental-societal pressure, depression and other emotional issues for the suicides.
A punishing schedule, from early morning till late at night which leaves no room for extra- curricular activities, has been the bane of many a student. Life at the coaching institutes is a life of a regimented daily routine-- getting up then going to classes, coming back then doing reams of homework, taking a break for meal and then study, just study, study, study from morning till night. And this may go up to 2 to 4 years continuously.
This relentless pressure, coupled with shame of failure, guilt of letting parents down and trauma of slipping behind, all help to push the student into depression. Most parents either fail to comprehend the trauma their child is going through or just advise him or her to continue with the coaching in the hope of a better future.
The way the coaching centres are run also lead to trauma and depression among students. The students are routinely sorted into elite and non-elite sections. The topmost batches would get the elite teachers, the best of everything, while those down the line would have less-skilled teachers and more pressure of reaching the elite batches. 
Students falling into depression is also linked to his or her financial background. The financial background will ensure how many attempts a student can take to crack the IIT-JEE entrance exams because studying at a coaching centre is quite expensive-- about Rs 2 lakh per annum. If you miss your only shot at the exams, you can go into depression.
Studies have also found many instances of parents imposing their choice on their child when the child has no inclination of becoming an engineer or a doctor. In her suicide note, a girl had written:"I had interest in astrophysics and quantum physics and would have done a BSc...I still love writing, english, history...." In one suicide note, a student urged her parents to let her younger sister opt for the subject and career of her choice, rather than one enforced upon her.
But some crack despite cracking the exams. In 2016, a 17-year-old girl killed herself even though she cleared the exams because she felt she should have scored higher. This forced Collector Ravi Kumar Surpur to send a letter to the parents of the 150,000 students, urging them "not to force their expectations and dreams on their children and let them do what they want and are able to do".
The district administration also asked students to share feedback on the main causes of their stress, and how they usually cope with it. Coaching guidelines were issued, stressing the need for extra-curricular activities for students, mandatory counselling sessions for students and parents, as also parent-teacher meetings, establishment of helplines and giving students free time.
But suicides continued. And even increased.
Such guidelines are often introduced. But to no avail, it seems.
The malaise runs deep, and the problem is complex.
In this coaching desert hotspot, it is stress that snuffs out lives. And those who come out with flying colours are often also not the brightest. They have cracked the exams by years of pattern and rote learning. They lack creativity, curiosity, and analytical ability to think afresh.
Then what is the solution. A student's suicide letter succinctly puts it: 'Shut coaching centres, they suck'.
Yashwardhan Joshi is a Journalist of long standing and commentator on issues of Administration and Social Issues.
—[IFS]

Suicide at IIT Guwahati

One more student of the Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati (IIT-G) allegedly committed suicide earlier this week. This is the sixth such incident at the institute in the past five years. Friends of Pannpa Paban Siddhartha, who hailed from Andhra Pradesh, found him hanging from the ceiling fan of his hostel room last week. He was a final year student of the electronics and communications B.Tech programme. In September last year, another student, Nagashree S C of Karnataka, had committed suicide in her hostel room. Stress is often believed to be the reason behind students of higher institutes taking the extreme step.

Preventing student suicides - The Hindu

Preventing student suicides

JANUARY 15, 2019 00:15 IST

The rising number of cases must provoke a discussion on how outcomes of education are perceived in India

The end of 2018 brought with it some deeply unsettling cases of student suicides. The deaths of 49 students in Navodaya Vidyalaya schools in the last five years, and of three students preparing for the IIT entrance examinations in Kota in a span of four days, brings the issue of youth suicides to the fore again. More youths are taking their lives due to the fear of failing in examinations, constant flak from teachers, bullying from peers, family pressure and a loss of a sense of a decent future. These cases force us to recognise that youth suicides are ubiquitous, and the educational ecosystem must take the blame for this.

Current scenario

The Kota case is not an aberration. There have been frequent news reports of suicides taking place in coaching centres that train students for medical and engineering entrance examinations. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, between 2014 and 2016, 26,476 students committed suicide in India. Of them, 7,462 committed suicide due to failure in various examinations.

The rising number of these cases provokes a serious discussion on the way in which outcomes of education are perceived in India. The instrumental value of education in India is its potential in generating socio-economic and cultural capital through a promise of decent job opportunities in the future. But the education system has not been successful in generating enough job options. For instance, the International Labour Organisation’s World Employment and Social Outlook Trends Report of 2018 says that in 2019, the job status of nearly 77% of Indian workers would be vulnerable and that 18.9 million people would be unemployed. With their job future being so bleak, students are put under constant pressure to perform. They have failed to learn to enjoy the process of education. Instead, the constant pressure and stress has generated social antipathy and detachment among them. Sociologist Emile Durkheim had famously hypothesised that suicides are a result of not just psychological or emotional factors but social factors as well. With a loss of community and other social bonds, students in schools, colleges and coaching centres end up taking their lives.

Following the reports of suicides in Navodaya Vidyalayas, the National Human Rights Commission sought information from the Ministry of Human Resource Development on whether trained counsellors were present on campus. 

In the recently concluded winter session of Parliament, the HRD Minister said that an expert committee has been set up to look into the matter. According to Navodaya Vidyalaya Samitis, merely one or two training sessions are included to sensitise the teachers and principals regarding safety and security of the children and to prevent suicidal tendencies. The framework for implementation of the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) recognises the role of guidance and counselling services to students. In 2018, the government approved an integrated school education scheme subsuming the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the RMSA, and Teacher Education from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2020. However, without any significant rise in budgetary allocations for education, it is likely that there would be cuts in “non-productive” areas of education such as guidance and counselling.

The way forward

First, stop-gap solutions to setting up expert committees and counsellors in schools have not been able to solve the problem. The deep-rooted causes must be addressed. The government must undertake a comprehensive study on the reasons behind these suicides. 

Second, the curriculum should be designed in ways that stress the importance of mental exercises and meditation. 

The Delhi government’s initiative on the ‘Happiness Curriculum’ may be a step in the right direction. 

Third, with regards to higher education, 12 measures were suggested by the Justice Roopanwal Commission. One of them stressed on making Equal Opportunity Cells with an anti-discrimination officer functional in universities and colleges.

 Finally, it is high time we seek to reinvent our educational ecosystem in ways that impregnate new meanings, new ideas of living, and renewed possibilities that could transform a life of precarity into a life worth living.

Shahana Munazir is a Delhi-based scholar

Those in distress can call Suicide prevention helpline: Sanjivini, Society for Mental Health, Telephone: 011-4076 9002

It’s Emraan Hashmi 2.0 with Why Cheat India this Friday- Telegraph India

It’s Emraan Hashmi 2.0 with Why Cheat India this Friday

Nerve-wracking to start from the ground up all over again, says Emraan Hashmi

By Karishma Upadhyay

• Published 14.01.19, 8:24 PM

Emraan Hashmi's film takes on the Indian education system

A still from the film, Why Cheat India

It’s rare for an early morning film interview to start on time. So imagine our surprise when we found Emraan Hashmi at the venue waiting for us. “Even after all these years, this is the one bad habit I haven’t been able to change. I am always on time,” Emraan says with a laugh.

We met Emraan, who is acting in and co-producing Why Cheat India that releases this Friday. The film’s title was changed from Cheat India after the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) reportedly raised objections to the earlier title. The change was announced just hours after we spoke to Emraan at a studio in Bandra close to his Pali Hill home in Mumbai. We chatted about his new innings as an actor, which includes working in different mediums.  

Karishma Upadhyay:

Why Cheat India takes a close look at our education system. What kind of a student were you?

Emraan Hashmi:

Not very academic — I didn’t particularly like school or college. I scraped through every exam but never failed. I’d open my books at the last minute and it was a classic case of feeling like a zombie for eight hours a day for those 10 years where you have nothing but facts doled out to you day in and day out. Later on in life, you realise that there were some other things you should have learnt, which we didn’t. We weren’t future-ready for sure, and still aren’t.

Another thing I feel which is missing, which comes in the domain of spirituality, is how to manage your mind. That is the most important thing that schools don’t teach you. Fundamentally, the education system should be teaching you two things — how to live and how to make a living. Ours only teaches us how to make a living, and they’re really bad at that. It doesn’t even go into how to live, and that’s the reason why depression rates are soaring. Suicides are soaring because of the pressure, and it’s all about marks and grades. It’s a system that pits winners against losers, there should be only winners. What kind of education system makes a 10-year-old feel like a loser because they can’t mug up stuff?

This is why I put my son into the IB (International Baccalaureate) board, which is a slightly more evolved form of education, where it’s not about memorising and they let kids be kids. There is very little homework, and I feel homework should be completely abolished. We should take a page out of the system that Finland adopted. There’s a documentary on how they came from the bottom rung to become the No. 1 education system in the world over 60 years, and the first thing they did was to remove homework. The reason is it has a huge psychological impact on kids, and kids can be kids, they can enjoy life. 

Karishma Upadhyay:

While making this film, was there any one thing that you found out which completely blew your mind?

Emraan Hashmi:

Just how organised the cheating industry around our education system is. The fact that there are professional doctors and IIT engineers who go and give examinations for these undeserving students who just sit at home and get 95 per cent-plus and become engineers and doctors themselves. These are the people building bridges and flying planes, that’s what’s happening in our country, and it’s going from bad to worse. That was a big revelation. 

Karishma Upadhyay:

There’s been a lot of talk about this film being an introduction to Emraan Hashmi 2.0. What is different?

Emraan Hashmi:

I think I’ve tried to shed a certain image, and fade it out slowly. I did certain kinds of films early on, which I got accepted for. The films were doing well but it was not very fulfilling. I just felt I needed to do more, and it’s why I became a producer and took on a subject that’s never been explored before. I know I’ve taken the right decision, but it’s nerve-wracking when you start from the ground up all over again.

Karishma Upadhyay:

But you’ve been trying to make this shift for a few years now. Shanghai, for example, was so different from your earlier films. 

Emraan Hashmi:

You’re as good as the scripts that are offered to you. Had Shanghai come out right now, it would have done a lot better. So, I’m happy with these higher-concept films that are coming out now, and I’m willing to explore it and start my journey afresh. 

Karishma Upadhyay:

Your earlier attempts clearly didn’t stick. Weren’t you tempted to just go back to the tried and tested?

Emraan Hashmi:

No. I think that kind of cinema has ended for me in a way; it doesn’t have the impact it used to. There was a time when thriller-erotica worked. If there was a list of reasons why people watched the film, the story would probably come third. The first would be erotica, but now you get that from phones. It’s definitely lost its zing. You can just strike that off the list, or you’d better have a great story. I can’t wait around for a good story with erotica to come three times a year, and do those. I need to start exploring other things, and this was the obvious choice. I felt I should start afresh, and play characters in films and just see how it plays out with the audience.

Karishma Upadhyay:

You’ve also turned producer with this film. Is there something you learnt as a producer that you didn’t know?

Emraan Hashmi:

The amount of money they make (laughs). But seriously, it is a tricky job. Obviously, on this film, the work has been divided amongst two other producers, so it’s not as much stress as it would be. But yes, it’s a tough job because it’s managing a lot of things and there are crucial decisions that one has to make and then stand by them. 

Karishma Upadhyay:

Later in the year, we’ll see you in a new medium with Bard of Blood on Netflix, for which you don’t have to worry about Friday release, or what the distributors earn. Is that freeing?

Emraan Hashmi:

It is, and that’s why you can explore so many new concepts there. In Bollywood, because of acceptance and the box office, you have to play within the confines of that box. It’s not always necessary, but 90-95 per cent of commercial films that go to theatres have to have those four-five songs, and other such rules. But with OTT platforms, you don’t need to abide by those rules. You can literally let your creativity soar and not be bogged down by these things. It’s liberating for everyone creatively associated with these projects and web shows are really good.

IIT Exam Or General Knowledge Paper? Questions On ISRO And NASA Abbreviations Asked! - India Times

IIT Exam Or General Knowledge Paper? Questions On ISRO And NASA Abbreviations Asked!

Priyanshi Mathur 

Updated: Jan 10, 2019, 12:35 Pm Ist

Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2019 Paper 2 which is conducted for the entrance into architecture courses, reportedly asked students about the full form of ISRO and NASA in its aptitude section. The paper was conducted on January 8.

It is the first-ever exam to be conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA) that asked 15 questions - all based on general knowledge.

Read More: Another IIT-JEE Aspirant Kills Self In Kota, Third Suicide In Five Days At India's Coaching Hub

Each question was multiple choice question (MCQ). According to a report in Indian Express, a student from Delhi, Devika Sharma, confirmed that two abbreviations - ISRO, NASA were there.

“JEE Main paper 2 was of moderate level difficulty. I am expecting 200+ marks. The aptitude section was easy. There were questions on 3D images, colours, buildings including Imam Bala,” she told Indian Express. “In the aptitude section there were questions on full-form of ISRO and NASA, I do not know how they are related to architecture but I knew answers to both of them,” she added.

The NTA had said that they have set the question paper based on the psychometric analysis. The questions also carried a negative marking of -1. This time the footfall of the candidates was 1,80,052.

Final Year Student from Andhra Pradesh Hangs Himself in IIT-Guwahati Hostel Room - News 18

Final Year Student from Andhra Pradesh Hangs Himself in IIT-Guwahati Hostel Room

The parents of Pannem Pavan Siddardha, who hailed from Andhra Pradesh, called up his friends at IIT-G around 5 pm asking them to connect him to them as Pannem was not picking up his phone.

PTIUpdated:January 8, 2019, 10:08 AM IST

Guwahati: A student of the Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati was on Monday evening found hanging in his hostel room in the campus premises, police said.

The parents of Pannem Pavan Siddardha, who hailed from Andhra Pradesh, called up his friends at IIT-G around 5 pm asking them to connect him to them as Pannem was not picking up his phone, sources said.

On entering his room, the friends found Pannem hanging from the ceiling fan. They immediately rushed him to the campus hospital where he was declared brought dead, the sources said.

Pannem was a final year student of Electronics and Communications B.Tech programme and a boarder of Umium hostel in a single seater room.

His body has been kept in the morgue of a nearby hospital and autopsy will be conducted Tuesday after his parents arrive from Andhra Pradesh, they said.

• iitiit guwahatisuicide

First Published: January 8, 2019, 9:37 AM IST

A Student of IIT Guwahati Commits Suicide At The Campus - Sentinel Assam

A Student of IIT Guwahati Commits Suicide At The Campus

January 8, 2019

GUWAHATI: One Pannpa Paban Siddhartha, a student of IIT Guwahati on Monday allegedly committed suicide at the institute’s campus. He was a student of the fourth semester of B-Tech and originally hailed from Andhra Pradesh. Police are investigating the incident.

IIT-Guwahati student from Andhra Pradesh commits suicide

IIT-Guwahati student from Andhra Pradesh commits suicide

The B Tech fourth semester student, identified as Pannem Pavan Siddardha, reportedly committed suicide in his hostel room

 NE NOW NEWS GUWAHATI , 

January 7, 2019 10:32 pm

2 min read

Representative image

A 20-year-old student from Andhra Pradesh, pursuing B Tech in Electronics & Communication Engineering (ECE) at Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati (IIT-G) allegedly committed suicide on Monday.

The B Tech fourth semester student, identified as Pannem Pavan Siddardha, reportedly committed suicide in his hostel room in the campus by hanging himself from a ceiling fan. The reason behind the suicide is yet to be ascertained.

In September last year, a first year B.Tech student, committed suicide by hanging herself for a ceiling fan.

18-year-old Nagashree S.C. from Karnataka, who was pursuing Mechanical Engineering, left a note behind saying she wanted to be a teacher, not an engineer.

Earlier, a couple of students and employee have committed suicide at the IIT-G.

In August last year, a 25-year-old contractual employee identified as Kishor Barua was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his living room in the IIT campus.

Sarkar Intekhab Alam, a post-graduate student of IIT-Guwahati allegedly committed suicide by hanging from a ceiling fan in his hostel room in May in 2016. Sarkar Intekhab Alam hailed from Murshidabad in West Bengal.

In 2014, 19-year-old Tushar Yadav, an Electronics and Communication Engineering student of the institute, was found dead behind his three-storey hostel building. According to police, Tushar, who hailed from Gurgaon in Haryana committed suicide by jumping from the hostel rooftop.

At least seven cases of suicide have been reported in the institution so far.

IIT Guwahati student found hanging in hostel room - India Today

IIT Guwahati student found hanging in hostel room

Pannem Pavan Siddardha was a final year student of Electronics and Communications B.Tech programme. He was a native of Andhra Pradesh.

The student's body was found hanging in his hostel room in the campus premises on Monday evening. (Image for representational purpose)

A student of the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati was on Monday evening found hanging in his hostel room in the campus premises, police said.

The parents of Pannem Pavan Siddardha, who hailed from Andhra Pradesh, called up his friends at IIT-G around 5 pm asking them to connect him to them as Pannem was not picking up his phone, sources said.

On entering his room, the friends found Pannem hanging from the ceiling fan. They immediately rushed him to the campus hospital where he was declared brought dead, the sources said.

Pannem was a final year student of Electronics and Communications B.Tech programme and a boarder of Umium hostel in a single seater room.

His body has been kept in the morgue of a nearby hospital and autopsy will be conducted Tuesday after his parents arrive from Andhra Pradesh, they said.

Student from IIT Guwahati commits suicide - Guwahati Plus

Student from IIT Guwahati commits suicide

G PLUS NEWS | JANUARY 07, 2019 20:49 HRS

GUWAHATI: A student from IIT Guwahati, identified as Pannem Pavan Siddardha has reportedly committed suicide in the campus premises.

The deceased hailed from Andhra Pradesh and was a student of Bachelor in Technology (B Tech) in 4 Semester. 

Police have reached the spot and are investigating the matter. However, the reason behind the suicide is yet to be known.

The body of the deceased has been taken to Narayana Hospital Morgue.

Study Pressure Toll - Sentinel Assam

Study Pressure Toll

January 7, 2019

In Kota, the country’s coaching capital, the intensive cramming regimen is throwing a longer shadow. After a dip in 2017 when student suicides were down to 7, the toll in 2018 was 19, the highest in five years. 

In the last week of December beginning from Christmas, 3 students in 4 days ended their lives. This brought to 77 the number of student suicides since 2013 in this Rajasthan town where coaching is estimated to be a Rs 2,000 crore industry. 

About 1,50,000 students from all over the country go every year to Kota to seek admission in its 40-odd coaching centres; in turn, many of these centres have opened branches in other States, including Assam. This town boasts of a high success rate of students cracking the engineering entrance (particularly the gruelling, 2-stage IIT-JEE) and medical entrance tests every year. Their success comes after intense study for 14-16 hours daily stretched over 2-4 years, a punishing schedule that could daunt a world class athlete. 

About half of those who make the IIT grade claim they did it through rigorous self-study of prescribed NCERT text books and carefully selected reference books. But most IIT aspirants (and their guardians) believe coaching is indispensable. The reason is not far to seek. The IIT entrance test may have become a 2-stage affair (mains and advanced) some years back, but it is still a test of high level problem solving abilities in mathematics, physics and chemistry. While problems are never repeated, top coaching centres have built up enormous banks of problems, figured out how these are constructed and worked out quick lines of solution. 

Top faculties, a sizeable number of them former IITians, who could be paid anything like Rs 2-8 lakh per month, teach students how to ‘see through’ complicated problems in a jiffy and employ various number crunching tricks. No wonder guardians are willing to shell out sums like Rs 2-3 lakh as yearly coaching fees, not to speak of lodging expenses that could be even larger, so as to ensure that their wards are up-to-date with such skills. 

While such skills can be acquired (though not equally well by all), the IIT-JEE happens to be arguably the toughest elimination test in the world. If some 13 lakh aspirants are sitting for the mains, only around 1.5 lakh go on to the advanced stage to compete for 15 thousand or so seats. What is more, the questions are getting tougher to select from higher secondary students intensively coached in college level material.

Considering the tremendous pressure, some people would argue that 77 student suicides in a town like Kota can only be expected in a country, where every hour one student on average takes his/her life. But some educationists and counsellors beg to differ. 

The larger problem of youths in India unable to cope with failure in examinations and careers, in the absence of social support and mental healthcare infrastructure — is sharpened manifold within a system where students are tested in a narrow band of quantitative abilities. It has been pointed out that globally top ranking institutions like MIT and Caltech in US admit students after standardised tests like scholastic aptitude test (SAT) which demand a much wider set of skills. There is a school of thought which argues that keeping aspirants narrowly focused on problem solving skills — to the exclusion of other academic, social and soft skills — is detrimental to their broader intellectual development during formative years. 

When other problems are piled atop this — lack of interest, feelings of inferiority in extremely competitive environment, stress of living alone, parental pressure, guilty feelings for huge financial burden on parents, love affairs and substance abuse could push a susceptible aspirant over the edge. Such tragic outcomes have been documented and analysed in a few studies, prompting the Kota district administration to issue guidelines to help release pressure, like fee refunds, appointing counsellors and mentors, help-lines, weekly offs, indoor playing areas, yoga classes and in-house recreation facilities. But monitoring and follow-up does not happen regularly, so things go back to square one. It does not help matters that coaching centres are locked in cut-throat competition to attract and groom potential toppers; the negative fallout is that students considered less capable are segregated in batches and allegedly given lesser attention while charged higher fees. This has a bad effect on students’ morale, leaving them struggling to catch up with the leaders and throwing them into suicidal depression. Ironically, Kota’s history itself is a testimony to the never-say-die spirit that can turn failure into success. Once an industrial town that saw one industry after the other fail in the Eighties, Kota’s turnaround began when some of its jobless engineers began coaching youngsters to get into IITs. 

An entire economy has grown around the coaching centres — shops, hostels, transporters, security agencies and various service providers are thriving there. Such are the life lessons of enduring, surviving and ultimately prevailing. The trick is to devise a learning path that does not blind the young to such lessons while they aim for the stars.

Deaths at IIT-M: Girl students scared to stay in hostel rooms - News Today

Deaths at IIT-M: Girl students scared to stay in hostel rooms

Posted on January 4, 2019 by Naomi N

Chennai: On the first day of the new year, the city woke up to a shocking news. Yet another life was lost at the IIT-Madras campus.

Ranjana Kumari (25), a research scholar from Jharkhand, was found hanging in her room at the first floor of Sabarmati hostel.

According to sources, she joined IIT-M in 2017, and was working to earn a PhD in Metallurgy and Material Sciences.

“Following the incident, there are hardly two girls staying back in their rooms at night. The remaining are staying in their friends’ rooms,” a students on the campus, said.

Speaking on this, a police officer stated, “Preliminary inquiries say, the girl was undergoing depression and was being treated for it. She was a loner and was affected by the separation of her father. Her teachers and friends said that she was excellent in studies.”

For the students on the other hand, this is a lot to take in, as, this was the third death in three months.

On 5 December, a teaching faculty of the institute ended her life, allegedly out of mental stress.

Aditi Simha (48), a native of Bengaluru, was an assistant professor in the Physics department.

Simha was, reportedly, separated from her husband three years ago and lived alone at her quarter on the campus.

Earlier, in September, Shahul Kormath, a post graduate student, pursuing Ocean Engineering, took a similar extreme step.

Even though he did not leave behind a suicide note, it was claimed that fear of not being allowed to take up the final examinations due to low attendance, drove him to suicide.

Speaking about the repeated cases of depression deaths, an officer from the Kotturpuram police station, said, “Higher officials in the ranks of Deputy Commissioner and Joint Commissioner have written to the institute’s Director to take steps and address the issue. Students should be provided counselling and other assistance to come out of stress.”

Woman PhD scholar found hanging in IIT-Madras hostel room - Hindustan Times

Woman PhD scholar found hanging in IIT-Madras hostel room

According to police sources, the woman was identified as Rajana Kumari who had joined IIT-Madras in 2017.

INDIA Updated: Jan 02, 2019 12:19 Ist

M Manikandan  Hindustan Times, Chennai

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT) at Chennai.(PTI File Photo)

A 25-year-old woman research scholar from Jharkhand was found hanging in her hostel room in Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras late on Tuesday, police said on Wednesday.

According to police sources, the student has been identified as Rajana Kumari who had joined IIT Madras in 2017.

“Ranjana Kumari was doing PhD in metallurgy and materials engineering. When her parents tried to contact her through mobile, it was kept in switch off mode since Sunday. Therefore, they informed Ranjana Kumari’s friends to identify her. When they looked into Kumari’s room, she was found hanging,” sources with Kotturpuram Police said.

They also said Ranjana did not come out of her hostel room on December 31 for New Year celebrations.

“We have registered a case over this suicide and launched a probe to know the reason for Ranjana’s suicide. As far we have enquired, no one has said that Ranjana was in distress,” said an enquiry officer. A final year student of oceanography from Kerala was also found hanging inside his hostel room at IIT Madras in September last year. First Published: Jan 02, 2019 11:10 Ist

PhD scholar, 25, commits suicide in IIT-Madras - India Today

PhD scholar, 25, commits suicide in IIT-Madras

The death of Ranjana Kumari, 25, is the second student suicide on campus in the last four months. The young woman was from Jharkhand.

Shalini Lobo

Chennai

January 2, 2019

Photo for representation.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Ranjana Kumari joined IIT-M in 2017
• She was working to earn an PhD in metallurgy, material sciences
• Another IIT-M student had committed suicide in September

When Ranjana Kumari's parents couldn't get her on the phone for two days, they informed others in the young PhD scholar's hostel at the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras, now Chennai. She was found dead in her room.

She had hung herself.

Ranjana Kumari, 25, was from Jharkhand. She joined IIT-M in 2017, and was working to earn a PhD in metallurgy and material sciences.

She is the second IIT-M student to commit suicide on campus in the last four months.

A young man from Kerala, Shahul Kornath, took his own life in September.

READ | Three student suicides in four days keep Kota on edge

READ | 5 girls attempt suicide over love message on school wall

READ | India, where a simple exam so often produces irreparable human tragedy

VIDEO | CCTV footage shows what happened moments before 11 Burari deaths

Student found dead on IIT campus - The Hindu

CHENNAI

Student found dead on IIT campus

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

CHENNAI, JANUARY 02, 2019 01:24 IST

A 25-year-old Ph.D. student at the Indian Institute of Technology–Madras reportedly committed suicide inside her room on the campus on Monday.

According to the police, Ranjana Kumari from Jamshedpur, was doing her second year Ph.D. in the institution. On Monday evening around 6.30 p.m., the hostel staff spotted her dead and alerted the police. “We are investigating the reason behind her taking the extreme step,” said an officer. Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State’s helpline 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.

Woman PhD scholar from Jharkhand commits suicide at IIT Madras - BUSINESS STANDARD

Woman PhD scholar from Jharkhand commits suicide at IIT Madras

According to a student, the scholar locked herself up in her room in Sabarmati hostel two days ago

Press Trust of India  |  Chennai 

Last Updated at January 1, 2019 22:52 IST

Photo: Shutterstock

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• A woman PhD scholar of IIT Madras from Jharkhand allegedly committed suicide in her hostel room, police said Tuesday.

According to a student, the scholar, who belonged to the metallurgy department, locked herself up in her room in Sabarmati hostel two days ago.

A senior police officer told PTI that they got a call from the institute about the incident Tuesday evening, adding that "foul smell was emanating, indicating that the extreme step might not have been taken today."

An investigation is on, the officer said, declining to divulge further information.

IIT Madras has around 18 hostels in the campus.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Tue, January 01 2019. 20:25 IST

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