HRD sends manual to curb student suicide - DNA

HRD sends manual to curb student 

suicidehttp://www.dnaindia.com/delhi/report-hrd-sends-manual-to-curb-student-suicide-2575517

HRD sends manual to curb student suicide

Kritika Sharma

                   Student suicide Picture for representational purpose

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has circulated a manual to higher education institutions in India, asking the authorities to adopt measures listed in the manual in an effort to prevent students from committing suicide.

The preventive manual was distributed to colleges and universities across the country about a month ago.

Early identification of a student's vulnerability, a buddy programme, and a double-blind helpline where both the caller and the counselor are unaware of each other's identity are some of the measures mentioned in the manual.

According to a recent report of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), over 26,000 students across institutions in India, including schools and colleges, killed themselves in three years -- from 2014 to 2016.

The manual was prepared after a detailed study was conducted across the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) by IIT Kharagpur to understand the reasons that force students to take this extreme step.

The survey found that the pressure of examination and deadlines stresses students most, while they are happiest when they are with friends and have peer support. The manual was prepared after taking in consideration such factors.

The study says that it is very hard to detect early signs of depression in students and only 4 to 5 percent of those who are troubled come for major psychological counselling.

The manual suggests that there should be a multi-modal vulnerability assessment for early identification of depression, institutes should have a wider mental health assessment programme with orientation programmes at every year and level, students should go through strength based personality development, have a buddy system, and have a healthy mix of students in classes, hostels, and the curriculum. The manual has also focused on improving food, nutrition, hygiene, recreation, and the general infrastructure of the institute.

It also says that colleges should sensitise the administration, faculty, the support staff, and the parents. Having a provision of a 24X7 double-blind helplines in institutions has also been mentioned in the manual. Used mostly for psychological counselling, a double blind helpline is something where the caller and counselor are unaware of each other's identity so that they are able to interact with each other in a safe and a comfortable space.

"We have circulated the manual to all higher education institutions. Now, the implementation is completely up to them," said an official from the HRD ministry.

V Ramgopal Rao, Director of IIT Delhi, said, "IITs are already taking a number of measures to help students fight stress. Something like a buddy programme is going on in IIT Delhi wherein senior students visit the hostels in evening to help juniors with studies. Orientation programme is also something that happens in most IITs."

Bipin Tiwari, a Delhi University professor, who is also associated with Equal Opportunities Cell, said, "I deal with student issues on a daily basis, students come to me with all kinds of problems, including personal issues. I feel there is a need for having a more robust mechanism of counselling. A manual like the one that the ministry has issued is a positive step in this direction."

MHA SURVEY FINDS

• The pressure of examination and deadlines stresses students most  
• It is very hard to detect early signs of depression in students  
• Only 4 to 5% opt for major psychological counselling

IIT-D may revise curriculum to take pressure off students - Hindu

IIT-D may revise curriculum to take pressure off students

Press Trust of india

NEW DELHI MAY 04, 2017 00:00 IST

Move aimed at addressing suicidal tendencies among overstressed students

Concerned over the rising number of students’ suicide cases at IITs, the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi (IIT-D) has decided to revise its curriculum in a way that helps them tackle study pressure effectively and keep suicidal tendencies at bay.

The move comes against the backdrop of the Ministry of Human Resource Development asking all IITs to take initiatives to stem the trend of student suicides.

Less theory

The revised curriculum, which is likely to be implemented from next year, will have reduced focus on theory and students will be offered more hands-on experience.

The departments at IIT have been asked to draft a revised curriculum, which will then be approved by the Governing Body.

“There is constant effort at the IITs to help students cope with stress, but there are always one or two suicide cases. All IITs are undertaking initiatives, but nothing seems to be enough,” IIT-D director V. Ramgopal Rao told PTI.

Mr. Rao said that in an internal survey done by IIT-D, it was found that there is a mismatch between the students’ and the institution’s expectations.

“By the time students come to IIT, they are tired of endless studying and they want to enjoy a bit. We, unfortunately, do not offer any scope for that,” Mr. Rao said.

He added that it was important to guide students at the fresher-level because if they start developing “coldfeet” and have “backlogs”, it becomes “difficult for them to survive for another 3 years”.

“Hence a major rehaul was necessary to reduce the theory component and introduce more hands-on training so they can simply go to the lab and apply what they have learned so far,” Mr. Rao said.

Wellness centres

The IIT Council, the apex coordination body for the 23 IITs, had last week decided at a meeting chaired by Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar that all IITs will have wellness centres to help students deal with mental stress; and introduce non-academic induction programmes for freshers.

The issue drew attention after the recent suicide by an IIT Kharagpur student, the third such case at the institute this year.

There is no consolidated data on the number of student suicides across IITs. However, it has been a matter of concern for previous governments as well.

In 2011, the IIT Council had decided to set up a task force to address students’ mental health needs.

IIT Delhi To Revamp Curriculum To Prevent Student Suicide - NDTV

IIT Delhi To Revamp Curriculum To Prevent Student Suicide

Education | Edited by Anisha Singh | Updated: May 03, 2017 18:14 IST

NEW DELHI:  The Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi has decided to revamp its curriculum in view of the increasing cases of student suicides at the IITs. The curriculum would be revised in a way to help students handle study pressure and keep suicidal thoughts at bay. The decision comes after HRD Ministry asked the IITs to come up with new measures in addition to the existing ones to curb the trend of suicide among students due to study pressure. The revised curriculum is likely to be introduced next year and will focus less on theory and more on practical experience.

The various departments at IIT have been asked to submit a draft of revised curriculum. The draft would then be approved by the Governing body which also approved the required changes in the credit system. 

IIT Delhi Director V Ramgopal Rao told PTI, "There is a constant efforts at the IITs to help students cope with stress but there are always one or two cases. All IITs are undertaking initiatives but nothing seems to be enough." He also said that an internal survey found that there was a discrepancy in the students' and the institution's expectations. He said that by the time studnets come to IIT they are already tired of studying too much and expect to have a little bit of fun but the curriculum leaves hardly any scope for that. 

He also emphasized on the importance of guiding students at the fresher level itself because if the students develop backlog in the first year, it becomes difficult to sail through the next three years. He said that this is the reason why it was important to rethink the curriculum and reduce the theory component to make space for more practical aspects. 

The IIT Council, which is the apex coordination body for 23 IITs, chaired by Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar met last week and decided that all IITs will have a wellness centres which would help students de-stress and deal with mental stress. The centre would also conduct non-academic induction programme for freshers.

The issue of student suicide drew attention recently after a recent suicide by an IIT Kharagpur student. This is third such case at the institute this year. There is no consolidated data available on student suicides across IITs but the issue has been a matter of concern even for the previous governments. In 2011, the IIT Council, headed by the then HRD Minister Kapil Sibal had decided to set up a task force to address student's mental health issues. 

(With Inputs from PTI)

IIT Delhi decides to revamp its curriculum to prevent student suicides - First Post

IIT Delhi decides to revamp its curriculum to prevent student suicides

IndiaPTIMay, 03 2017 16:11:25 IST

New Delhi: Concerned with cases of student suicide at IITs, the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi has decided to revamp its curriculum in a way that helps them tackle study pressure effectively and keep suicidal tendency at bay.

The move comes against the backdrop of HRD ministry asking all IITs to take new initiatives, in addition to the existing measures, to stem the trend of student suicides.

                       Representational image. News18

The revised curriculum, which is likely to be implemented from next year, will have reduced focus on theory and students will be offered more hands-on experience.

The departments at IIT have been asked to draft a revised curriculum which will then be approved by the Governing Body, which also approved the required changes in the credit system.

"There is a constant efforts at the IITs to help students cope with stress but there are always one or two cases. All IITs are undertaking initiatives but nothing seems to be enough," IIT Delhi Director V Ramgopal Rao told PTI.

He said the IIT Delhi in an internal survey found that there is a mismatch between the students' and the institution's expectations.

"By the time students come to IIT, they are tired of endless studying and they want to enjoy a bit. We, unfortunately, do not offer any scope for that," Rao said.

He also said it is important to guide students at fresher-level only, because, he said, if they start developing "coldfeet" and have "backlogs", it becomes difficult for them to survive for another three years.

"Hence a major rehaul was necessary to reduce the theory component and introduce more hands-on training so they can simply go to the lab and try applying what they have learnt so far," he said.

The IIT Council, the apex coordination body for 23 IITs, had last week decided at a meeting chaired by Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar that all IITs will have wellness centres to help students deal with mental stress and also non-academic induction programmes for freshers.

The issue drew attention after the recent suicide by an IIT Kharagpur student, the third such case at the institute in this year.

There is no consolidated data available about the number of student suicides across IITs.

However, it has been a matter of concern for previous governments as well.

In 2011, under the then HRD minister Kapil Sibal, the IIT Council had decided to set up a task force to address students' mental health needs.

Published Date: May 03, 2017 04:11 pm