IIT Bombay: Being Political Amidst Changing Student Dynamics - YKA

IIT Bombay: Being Political Amidst Changing Student Dynamics

By priyank samagra in Activities on Campus, Campus Watch
18th February, 2020

In the last couple of months, IIT Bombay has witnessed a series of marches and protest sit-ins for various reasons including the MTech fee hike, suicide of Fathima Latheef at IIT Madras, CAA and pan-India NRC and, violence in academic spaces. The protests have stirred the campus so much, that recently an open forum was called with Director and Deans. But, there are some questions which are relevant beyond the context of IIT Bombay.

The first question is regarding the changing character of IIT Bombay as an institution. I have written here in detail about the transition which is going on at IIT-B. It is no longer, if I may use the word, a fiefdom of engineering and technology. The establishment of interdisciplinary centres at IIT Bombay has brought in faculty members and students on campus who are trained to critically think and write about society, politics, philosophical worldviews, etc.

It’s a welcome change and requires constant conversation among students and faculty members for the future of research, teaching, learning and the overall academic environment 

on campus.

IIT Bombay.

The second question is regarding the formation of various students’ groups around various political worldviews. One may outrightly discard them by naming those groups as political. However, in my opinion, that is the consequence of uniformed and ill-informed thinking.

The demography of IIT Bombay has changed. First of all, postgraduate students now outnumber the undergraduate students. This brings diversity to the campus in all respects – economic, social, political.

Those coming for postgraduate degrees have studied at different universities before coming to IIT Bombay. They have grown up as adults have their own social and political experiences. They are going to mobilise and organise themselves.

The problem arises when these groups, read as political worldviews, become some sort of turfs to be protected or fought for. Albeit the purpose should be to have debates and conversations. The groups will not cease to exist. But, if dealt with heavy-handedly or by smear campaigns, polarisation is bound to get reinforced. And, the purpose of academic freedom is bound to get defeated.

The third question is regarding the access to spaces of higher education. The truth is that most of the higher education spaces in India do not reflect the reality of our society. Even a simple survey on social composition of such spaces – faculty members, students, non-teaching staff, contract workers, etc. will bring out the truth on our face.

In such a context, the attempts to de facto commercialise the public universities, are bound to face resistance.

The three questions regarding (i) transition from a technology focused institute to interdisciplinary world-class university; (ii) changing demography due to more and more inclusion; (iii) access to higher education and changing national policies in this regard are not limited to IIT Bombay alone.

Also Read: During An Internship At IIT Bombay, This Is How An Online Training Came To My Rescue

They can be used as a framework in context of any other institutes/universities as well. Therefore, the political/apolitical debate is farcical. Because, the questions before us are deeply political. The right debate is to ask what kind of politics, for whom, and to what end.

Featured image for representative purpose only.
Featured image source: Vinay Bavdekar/Flickr.

Mumbai: IIT-B Professors Share Experiences To Help Students To Cope With Stress - MId Day

Mumbai: Iit-B Professors Share Experiences To Help Students To Cope With Stress

Nov 11, 2018, 08:10 IST | Pallavi Smart

Institute gets professors to share experiences at IIT to help students cope with stress

Prof Soumya Mukherji chatted up with students at a session in Oct

What does it take to tick at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay? Possibly, just a heart-to-heart conversation between teachers and students. Or at least, that's what the academic council of the institute thinks so. In a novel attempt to reduce stress levels of students, the council has begun organising informal chat sessions between professors and students from IIT-B. The idea is to get the professors to talk about how they coped with the pressures they faced while preparing for the exams.

The new initiative, which kick-started in the last week of October, will be held once every semester, and will be scheduled just before the examinations, when stress levels among students are at their peak.

Sharing the stress
Adarsh Kumar, head of the academic council's Students' Support Group, which launched the initiative, said, "A lot of students are reeling under academic pressure."

Exam stress among IITians has been a pressing issue for a long time now. In September, Jaideep Swain, an MTech student at IIT-B, had committed suicide inside a hotel room. Back in 2015, Jitesh Sharma, a third year chemical engineering student, killed himself, while his examinations were on. 

There have also been a few suicide attempts within the campus. Apart from this, instances of talented students leaving the course abruptly, has also been a cause of worry. All of this compelled the council to look into the issue and find ways to alleviate the stress levels.

While IIT-B conducts regular workshops by experts and counsellors, the informal sessions between the students and teachers was seen as a good starting point to have difficult conversations. "When students discuss their problems with their professors, they are able to cope better," said Kumar. "The students can draw on their professors' life experiences, and understand how to move forward, especially when they are struggling during exams or need career advice," he added.

Sound advice
The first session in the series was held on October 25 with Prof Soumya Mukherji, who has been serving as dean of student affairs for almost three years now. Around 90 students attended the session. "We had planned a few questions to begin the session, but the students were more than enthusiastic to understand the professor's life on campus as a student," said Kumar. Appreciating the initiative, Prof Mukherji, said, "The point is to make these students realise that even their professors have gone through the same s**t and so, academic stress is completely manageable."

A student, who attended the session, said, "It's a different feeling, when someone who has gone through the same situation, tells you that everything is going to be all right."

Girl jumps to death from building at IIT Powai - Indian Express

Girl jumps to death from building at IIT Powai

According to the police, the deceased was believed to be the daughter of a professor in the industrial engineering department of the Indian Institute of Technology, Powai.

By: Express News Service | Mumbai | Published:April 27, 2016 2:02 am

A 17-year-old girl jumped off a highrise building inside the IIT campus on Tuesday and died, police said.

According to the police, the deceased was believed to be the daughter of a professor in the industrial engineering department of the Indian Institute of Technology, Powai.

“The girl committed suicide by jumping from the terrace of the 14th floor of one Shivalik building within the campus,” said A S Shaikh, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Saki Naka Division).

The incident occurred around 8 pm. The girl was rushed to Rajawadi hospital where she was declared dead on arrival.

She resided in one of the B-type bungalows in central area of the IIT campus and was a student of Class XII at the Kendriya Vidyalaya inside the campus. “We are investigating the matter. We are still unclear why she took her own life,” Shaikh added. No one from the IIT was available for comments.

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/girl-jumps-to-death-from-building-at-iit-powai-2771919/#sthash.QKcylFNB.dpuf

Mumbai: Social stigma keeps troubled IIT-B students away from counselling - Mid Day

Mumbai: Social stigma keeps troubled IIT-B students away from counselling

By Shreya Bhandary |Posted 10-Nov-2015

- See more at: http://www.mid-day.com/articles/mumbai-social-stigma-keeps-troubled-iit-b-students-away-from-counselling/16668181#sthash.azTy4Lkm.dpuf

A recent article in Insight, the premier institute’s student newspaper, highlights that while the provided facilities need improvement, students too need to take the initiative to ask for help

The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) has stepped up its efforts on providing counseling to students suffering from depression or anxiety. IIT-B made changes to its existing counseling mechanism after observing two suicides and one suicide attempt over the last year.

Even so, the social stigma of undergoing counselling still keeps many students away from the counsellors. A recent article in Insight, the institute’s student newspaper, has highlighted that while the facilities provided by the institute need improvement, students too need to take the initiative to ask for help.

“It’s sad to see that students still don’t approach counsellors when they first start feeling depressed. The competitive atmosphere gets to most of us, especially, since we stay far away from our home. It is important to be vocal about our problems,” said Mihir Kulkarni, one of the editors of Insight.

Loopholes

The article highlights the loopholes, not only in the institute but also in the student community. The mentorship program introduced by IITs across the country — where senior students mentor freshers to help them cope with pressure — has brought about some change.

“The good thing is, that there’s more acknowledgement of stress and pressure amongst the students now, which is very important. But beyond that, we need to address this problem proactively,” added Kulkarni.

Need more counsellors
However, all this still cannot suppress the need for more counsellors on board. At present, IIT-B has two full-time and one visiting counsellor, who visits student hostels and talks to the students regularly. With close to 10,000 students on campus, the three counsellors handle quite a handful, as they meet about 7-8 students everyday.

“The number of students a counsellor sees on a daily basis can vary. But the number of students connecting with the counsellors is showing a steady increase,” said Shivani Manchanda, counselling coordinator at IIT-B. She added that with the new steps taken by the institute, more and more students are sharing their problems.

IIT-B says
While officials at the institute stated that students have not yet approached anyone demanding more counsellors, they didn’t deny the problem. “With three counsellors on board, we are reaching out to as many students as possible. We are still looking to hire more counsellors.

We are already in the process of hiring a fourth counsellor and are also taking active steps to ensure a total outreach program,” said Soumyo Mukherji, student affairs Dean at IIT-B. He added that the management is also in talks to introduce a new counselling center code to the student hostels, but it is yet to be approved.

Recent suicide/attempted suicide cases at IIT-B

June 2015: A 23-year-old MTech student, pursuing degree in Earth Sciences, tried to end his life when he was alone in his room at Hostel 5. His mates claimed that after the initial attempt to commit suicide by hanging failed, he popped some pills. He was immediately rushed to the IIT-B Hospital and later to the Hiranandani Hospital in Powai, where he finally recovered.

May 2015: Jitesh Sharma, a third-year chemical engineering student, was found dead on the terrace of one of the hostels on May 2. The 21-year-old was reportedly suffering from depression and had been undergoing counselling for over six months. His body was found around 7 pm on the terrace of Hostel 15-B. He resided in Hostel 8.

September 2014: Aniket Ambhore (22), a fourth-year student pursuing a dual degree in electrical engineering, died after falling from the sixth floor of Hostel 13. Aniket was immediately rushed to Rajawadi Hospital, Ghatkopar, where he was declared dead on arrival. It is still unclear whether it was an accident or a suicide.

The PAL system
At IIT-Gandhinagar, the institute started a Peer Assisted Learning system (PAL), three years ago. This system appoints mentors and groups that help students deal with stress and pressure. While helping freshers, the system also involves compensation for the seniors, who get paid Rs 125 per hour.

- See more at: http://www.mid-day.com/articles/mumbai-social-stigma-keeps-troubled-iit-b-students-away-from-counselling/16668181#sthash.azTy4Lkm.dpuf

Two deaths and an attempted suicide later, IIT-B upgrades on-campus student support system - Mid Day

Two deaths and an attempted suicide later, IIT-B upgrades on-campus student support system

By Shreya Bhandary |Posted 26-Aug-2015

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Besides deploying counsellors in hostels, institute is allowing families of distressed students to stay with them on campus for a few days; students claim nothing much has changed

In the wake of two deaths and an attempted suicide on IIT-B campus in less than a year, the management has taken steps to ensure that students don’t feel stressed or get bogged down by academic or other pressures.

Representation pic/thinkstock

From hiring counsellors to making arrangements for families of stressed students to stay with them for a few days, the institute is deploying various methods to ensure that students are offered a strong support system.

One such method is the appointment of a counsellor to work from hostels. This counsellor is easily approachable as per students’ convenience. “We realised students felt uncomfortable while visiting counsellors at their offices in the main building, so we made arrangements for a counsellor to work from the hostels.

This counsellor moves form one hostel to another on a rotational basis and ensures more interaction with the students,” said Soumyo Mukherji, dean, student affairs, IIT-B, adding, “Since the counsellor is in the hostel, several students freely approach the counsellor. Some of the students simply visit so that they can chat with the counsellor.”

Currently, two counsellors work on IIT-B’s payroll and the third has been hired on a contractual-basis. According to figures given by institute officials, the number of students seeking help from counsellors has increased over the years. At present, on an average, two different counsellors conduct 120 to 130 sessions a month.

Of these, 25 sessions are dedicated to first timers, while the remaining ones are follow-ups. Officials added the number of students attending group workshops on stress management has increased by over 50 per cent due to word-of-mouth publicity, as most of the workshops have yielded positive results for distressed students.

“There are several measures that we are trying to implement, but most of these are still ideas and we want to ensure they are implemented well and benefit our students. For now, students are busy with the orientation programmes and we want them to know that the institute is always there to help them,” Mukherji said.

Counter view
While the institute claims it is implementing all possible measures to strengthen the support system, students have questioned the impact that the counselling sessions have had. 

“The institute may or may not be responsible in certain cases when students take extreme steps.

But, in case of a suicidal attempt or a death, the administration’s reaction has always been far from what it should have been. There is a need for change in the way our problems are treated. Counselling isn’t the only solution,” said a third-year student.

Cases

June 2015: A 23-year-old MTech student, pursuing degree in Earth Sciences, tried to end his life when he was alone in his room at Hostel 5. His mates claimed that after the initial attempt to commit suicide by hanging failed, the student popped some pills. He was immediately rushed to the IIT-Bombay Hospital and later to the Hiranandani Hospital in Powai, where he finally recovered.

May 2015: Jitesh Sharma, a third-year chemical engineering student, was found dead on the terrace of one of the hostels on May 2. The 21-year-old was reportedly suffering from depression and was undergoing counselling for over six months. Sharma’s body was found around 7 pm on the terrace of Hostel 15-B. He, however, resided in Hostel 8.

September 2014: Aniket Ambhore (22), a fourth-year student pursuing a dual degree in electrical engineering, died after falling from the sixth floor of Hostel 13. Aniket was immediately rushed to Rajawadi Hospital, Ghatkopar, where he was declared dead on arrival. It is still unclear whether it was an accident or a suicide.

- See more at: http://www.mid-day.com/articles/two-deaths-and-an-attempted-suicide-later-iit-b-upgrades-on-campus-student-support-system/16485192#sthash.FYVAEzTZ.dpuf

IIT-Bombay student attempts suicide, saved by hostel mates - Mid Day

IIT-Bombay student attempts suicide, saved by hostel mates

By Shreya Bhandary |Posted 03-Jun-2015

The student’s hostel mates say he tried to hang himself but failed; he then popped some pills and began to scream in pain, alerting other students

A student’s attempted suicide rocked the IIT-Bombay campus on Monday. The 23-year-old student, who was pursuing his MTech in Earth Sciences was rushed to the IIT Bombay Hospital and then taken to to the nearby Hiranandani Hospital in Powai, where he is currently recuperating.

Hostel mates say the student had kept three suicide notes, but Powai police said no note was found. File pic

The incident comes in the wake of two students having allegedly committed suicide on the IIT campus since last September. The student was alone in his room in Hostel 5 when he allegedly attempted suicide. According to his hostel mates, he first tried to hang himself, but was unsuccessful and then immediately popped some pills.

“Due to the reaction of these pills, he started screaming in pain and we rushed to his room. He had a towel tied around his neck so we understood what was happening and immediately rushed him to the hospital on campus.

Also Read: Girl student at IIIT Hyderabad commits suicide

The doctors provided an ambulance which rushed him to Hiranandani Hospital,” said one of the students. The incident took place around 7 am on Monday and he was taken to Hiranandani Hospital around 9 am in an unconscious state. With most students away on vacation, very few are currently on campus.

The student’s roommate, too, was not around at the time of the incident. Some students and two senior officials from IIT-Bombay rushed him to the hospital. “He is originally from Bihar and his brother stays in Delhi. His brother reached Mumbai early on Tuesday morning. We are taking turns to stay with him in case he needs help,” said another student.

When mid-day contacted officials at Hiranandani Hospital, they confirmed that the student was admitted to the ICU on Monday morning. “He was brought in unconscious and a stomach wash was done, which showed some pills. He also had a towel tied around his neck but there are no major marks on his neck.

The pills have been sent for tests to check the substance,” said an official. By late Tuesday evening, students said that their friend was conscious and talking and was moved out of the ICU to the general ward.

Suicide note confusion
The Powai police said no suicide note was found but the the student’s hostel mates told mid-day that three suicide notes were found in his room. “He had addressed one suicide note to his mother, another to the police and the third to the institute authorities.

But we are not clear about what was written in them,” said a student. An official from IIT-B said that one suicide note was found. “It seems he had written that no one was to be blamed for his actions. But only the police will know the details as they checked the room after the incident,” said Rashmi Uday Kumar, IIT-B PRO. The authorities at IIT-B said they are regularly checking on the student’s status at the hospital.

“He is doing decently well academically. We are still not sure why he took the step,” said Kumar. Since this is the third such incident on the IIT-B campus since September last year, questions have also been raised on the counselling of students who are always under pressure to perform well. “Counselling in IIT is an ongoing process. Our counsellors also regularly visit hostels and talk to students to understand their problems if any,” she added.

In the past

September 4, 2014: 22-year-old Aniket Ambhore, a fourth-year student pursuing a dual degree in electrical engineering, died after falling from the sixth floor of Hostel 13. Aniket was rushed to Ghatkopar’s Rajawadi Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival. It is still unclear whether it was an accident or a suicide.

May 2, 2015: Jitesh Sharma, a third-year chemical engineering student, was found dead on the terrace of a hostel on the campus on May 2. The 21-year-old student was reportedly suffering from depression and had been undergoing counselling for over six months. Sharma’s body was found on the terrace of hostel number 15 B on the campus. Sharma lived in hostel 8.

- See more at: http://www.mid-day.com/articles/iit-bombay-student-attempts-suicide-saved-by-hostel-mates/16260166#sthash.pOz8U3Sr.dpuf