‘HEIs don’t realise their social responsibility’

CHENNAI: While students’ suicides have put the institute in a spotlight that’s, at the very least, uncomfortable, experts attribute the reason to ‘increasing stress levels’.

The stress factors according to them are living away from home for the first time, having less access to support from friends and family members, and many campus issues they face. They also face increased academic demands, adjusting to a new environment, and developing a new support system.

In premier institutions

As many as 33 students have died by suicide in IITs alone since 2018-2023 up to this March. This was revealed by the Ministry of Education recently in the Rajya Sabha.

To a reply, Minister of State Education Subhas Sarkar said that 61 suicide cases were reported in IITs, National Institute of Technology (NITs) and Indian Institute of Management (IIMs). since March 2018. Going by the statistics given by the Ministry, the IITs account for half of the suicides followed by NIT, which accounts to 24 and with IIMs registering four.

He claimed that various reasons including academic stress, family issues, personal reasons and mental health for suicides. “The National Education Policy (NEP-2020) has provision for a students’ counselling system – Manodarpan scheme – that covers a wide range of activities to provide psychological support to students, teachers and families for mental and emotional well-being,” explained the Minister.

Stating that his Ministry has taken several measures including peer-assisted learning, and teaching courses in regional languages, the minister advised the institutions to make the system “more robust to include prevention, detection and remedial measures for addressing possible cause of suicides”.

Experts’ reason

S Dhamodharan, a senior psychiatrist in the city, said that most students, who join premier institutions, are overloaded with academic activities.

“Some students go to these institutes with prior history of mental health issues. And those in distress don’t seek help on their own,” he opined. “Students with psychiatric disorders could be easily overwhelmed by the changes and expectations than those without.”

R Krishnamoorthy, a student’s counsellor, said that enabling timely access to treatment is vital in suicide prevention. “Specific kinds of psychotherapy have been found to be effective. Yoga and medications also help in treating symptoms like depression and anxiety,” he added.

Responsibility of HEIs

Higher Education Institutes (HEI) in India never realised their social responsibility, said PB Prince Gajendra Babu, general secretary, State Platform for Common School System-Tamil Nadu.

“When students step into an HEI, they feel they’ve overcome challenges. But when they realise that the challenges are yet to begin and are more than they can cope, that’s when they need a support system. When the system lets them down, it forces them to take the extreme step,” pointed out Babu.

Stating that caste, religion, gender and economic status were issues that plague all premier institutes, Babu said but that there was a possibility of something beyond these factors.

“HEIs should recognise these issues and device a suitable mechanism to address them. A more humane approach from the administration is the first demand,” he stated.

Wellness at IIT-M

The wellness programme for students at IIT-M is conducted with the support of the National Health Mission and the State Department of Health and Family Welfare, through talks by renowned professionals involved in enabling mental health programmes across the State.

The objective is to increase awareness on mental health and various options available to students.

Prof V Kamakoti, director-IIT Madras, shared the launch of a new website https://behappy.iitm.ac.in/ primarily for students’ mental well-being. “This provides a time-bound redressal mechanism in addition to encouraging frequent interactions between faculty advisors and students. This website also provides other initiatives providing ‘Listeners Option’ where students can reach out for support,” he added.