IIT-M to post counsellors in every hostel
M Ramya, TNN Jul 12, 2013, 06.51AM IST
CHENNAI: From this academic year, students at IIT Madras will have a friend in need, a resident counsellor, round the clock. The institute authorities will also have an early warning system.
The institute is set to recruit 20 trained counsellors, one to reside in each hostel so that the 7,000 students can get help at any time. The initiative follows steps taken to help students handle academic stress and other pressures after an increase in the rate of suicides on campus over the last couple of years.
Dean of students L S Ganesh said the resident guidance officers would have a degree in psychology or sociology and possess good communication skills. "Mitr ” our existing guidance and counselling unit ” is gaining in popularity. But, the waking hours of students are not the same. And student volunteers are sometimes bound by secrecy that proves costly," Ganesh said.
The counsellor is expected to toe a fine line between alerting authorities and faculty about students on edge and serving the role of a confidante. "The challenge for the officer will be to establish trust among students," said Sivakumar M Srinivasan, IIT-M professor and head of Mitr.
There is a proposal to change the existing arrangements, which advocate separate hostels for undergraduates, postgraduates and research scholars. "We want UG students to be in touch with their seniors, who can assure them they've 'been there done that'," Srinivasan said.
The institute was among the first in the country to set up an online confession page in 2011, now popular on social networking sites. Revamping the guidance and counseling unit into Mitr has doubled the number of students reaching out when they need assistance. A 24-hour helpline in partnership with Medall Healthcare is also in service. Parents are regularly kept in the loop of the academic progress and behaviour of their wards, and encouraged to report trauma and history of mental illness in their child.
A task force set up last year to investigate student suicides at IITs and other centrally-funded technical institutes recommended various initiatives to guarantee the mental well-being of students. It suggested that each institute allot Rs50 lakh to provide psychological support to students. Committee chairperson M Anandakrishnan said, "All the IITs and NITs are taking measures along the recommended lines. We suggested the government set up an empowered committee to monitor the progress and give support. That is yet to happen."
All the IITs and NITs are taking measures along the recommended lines. We suggested the government set up an empowered committee to monitor the progress and give support. That is yet to happen.
Anandakrishnan | counselling panel head
