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

LAN ban in IITs no longer purposeful - Pagal Guy

LAN ban in IITs no longer purposeful

31 October 2015

Manaal Bhombal

@manaal_mb

Colleges banning internet access in this age of globalisation is a rule that still baffles many heads.  Most IITs impose internet restrictions for students in their hostel rooms, a rule that was brought in place almost a decade ago. Today, this rule has lost its significance owing to the pool of alternatives for internet use like smartphones, dongles, etc. Several student protests have been suppressed and institute authorities now no longer consider them an issue of concern.

IIT Bombay was the earliest among the IITs to impose an internet ban. A misfortunate incident of campus suicide is what led to this rule. In the following years, other IITs like IIT Madras, IIT Delhi, and IIT Guwahati also followed suit. However, this rule is only restricted to the student hostels, while internet is available 24/7 in the department labs, libraries and institute buildings. The idea behind imposing such a law is more or less the same throughout IITs. In IIT Guwahati, internet is banned from 2 AM to 5 AM so as to ensure students get adequate sleep at night and it is banned through the day from 8 AM to 5PM as an incentive for students to attend lectures instead of staying in their hostel rooms. Prof Soumya Mukherjee, Student Affairs Dean, IIT Bombay says, "We cannot restrict how a student uses his personal belongings like mobile phones. From the institute's end, our efforts are towards disciplined use of time."

Students in these institutes have debated against this rule for being redundant. "We have smart phones with 4G internet and iPads with dongles. We achieve fruitful tasks even in the wee hours of the night using these tools," says Sanchit Kalra, a student at IIT D. Another student, Chaitanya Sangani, from IIT Guwahati, says, "The ban hasn't led to any increase in attendance during lectures. In fact we can still browse Facebook or Twitter during lectures through our phone from anywhere in the campus." As long as students can fulfil their internet needs through smartphones and personal internet facilities, they are not affected by the LAN ban.

While social networking is allowed during the hours internet access is available, certain other websites with inappropriate content have been permanently banned throughout the campus. Nitish Reddy, a student of IIT M, says, "There was a time when internet was only available in cyber cafes or though wired connections. Newer channels for access have now been developed in India. Certain other sites that have been banned can be accessed through our personal devices."

On the other hand, IIT Kharagpur students are still alien to the idea of a ban on internet access. "We enjoy unrestricted internet services 24/7 across the campus. I don't see what issues such a ban can resolve, since the college's network is no longer the dominant means of internet access," says Ayudh Datta, a student of IIT Kgp.

Any student or professional today will crib about the inconvenience restricted internet access causes in fast running lives. Students staying up all night for their projects or exams have to work from the discomfort of institute labs and libraries rather than the comfort of their rooms. "We usually hurry our college work or postpone it to avoid spending the night alone in the department labs," says Chaitanya.

Despite such wide disregard for the rule, IITs are still persistent about its fruitfulness. The plan to impose a ban on only LAN and not on personal internet is a huge flaw in its implementation. It is time to evaluate the purpose of this law in view of development in accessibility to internet over the years.

IIT-B to revamp student counselling programme - Hindustan Times

IIT-B to revamp student counselling programme

HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times, Mumbai| Updated: Jun 03, 2015 22:37 IST

After a 23-year-old student at Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) attempted suicide on Monday, the institute is planning an overhaul of its counselling programmes to help students speak out about their problems instead of taking drastic steps.

Though the student survived the attempt, two others have killed themselves on the campus since September last year.

As part of the revamp, the institute plans to hire more professional mental health experts.

“We are also planning an outreach programme, as part of which students will be trained to spot signs of depression. Lectures on the subject will also be conducted. Depression is a major taboo in our society and that makes it difficult for students to reach out for help. The outreach programme will address that issue as well,” said dean of student affairs at IIT-B Soumyo Mukherjee.

According to sources in the institute, letters will also be sent to parents of first-year students, asking them not to pressurise their wards too much.

“Apart from academic pressure, students are often burdened with unrealistic expectations from their families. We need to address each of these triggers,” said an official from the institute.