IIT-D’s helping hand to boarders amid suicides

Amid rising academic pressures, growing mental health challenges and student suicides, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has extended a helping hand to boarders.

The institute’s major initiative to help students in distress involves the introduction of a QR code based support system across hostels.

The QR codes, affixed to every hostel room door, provide students with immediate access to information and contact details of counsellors, enabling swift and efficient delivery of mental health and support services. This move comes after a series of incidents that shook the campus community.

As per an RTI query, IIT-Delhi reported six student suicides between 2019-20 and 2023-24. In one of the most recent cases, a second-year student was found dead under mysterious circumstances inside his hostel room.

In the absence of a robust support mechanism earlier, students faced challenges in dealing with mental stress. To address these issues, IIT-D has significantly enhanced its counselling infrastructure.

The strength of the counselling team has been increased to 14 counsellors. There is now immediate psychiatric support available, and the institute has tied up with several hospitals since October 2023 to provide urgent psychological support to students.

“Counsellors are always available to help students. Mental health is always a big issue in educational institutes, but IIT-Delhi has taken steps to help students. Counselling sessions are also conducted regularly,” said Avinash, a student of IIT.

Kapil, an IIT student, said: “Every student faces these issues at some stage because of projects, studies and sometimes homesickness. Counsellors are available for all, and immediate psychiatric support is also available. Till now, we haven’t faced any problem from the administration.”

Several initiatives have been launched, including a 12-week wellness workshop conducted from January to April 2025, offering about 25 sessions twice a week.

Department-based mental health awareness programmes are being held for students, faculty, and staff.

Counsellors are also present during placement days, offering students emotional and psychological guidance to manage anxiety and stress. For first-year students, online orientation and hostel-wise sessions are conducted by Board for Student Welfare representatives with in-house counsellors to ensure easy access to help.

Additionally, regular yoga and meditation camps are held for students, faculty and staff. The administration has also introduced a provision for official breaks, allowing students dealing with psychological issues to pause academic responsibilities and seek proper care and assessment.

These comprehensive efforts signal a shift towards a more proactive and accessible mental health support structure at IIT-Delhi, aimed at preventing further tragedies and fostering student well-being.

Over 2,750 students to get degrees, diplomas

Sharing the IIT-D annual report on Thursday, Director Rangan Banerjee said over 2,750 students, including 530 PhDs (highest-ever), will be awarded degrees and diplomas this time and 35 international students (UG-1, Masters-28, PhD-6) from 20 countries are graduating this year. “This year we also see our first graduates in the UG B.Tech course in Energy Engineering and three PG courses, Interdisciplinary PG MTech course in Robotics, and Master of Science by Research in VLSI Design, Tools and Technology and Artificial Intelligence,” Banerjee said.