The UGC chairman on Thursday said it was “very unfortunate” that students were dying on IIT campuses.
M. Jagadesh Kumar was asked about the recent deaths in IIT Kharagpur.
He said the IITs should launch programmes to help students whenever they “are facing any difficulties in their academics” so the loss of life on the campus could be avoided.
“It is a very unfortunate thing to lose any of our young people like that. We need to collectively work and provide a support system within campuses.... the UGC has also issued guidelines for the physical and mental well-being of the students,” Kumar told reporters on Thursday at St Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata, where he was the chief guest at the institution’s convocation.
“Just getting top grades should not be our life’s goal. Our lives should be addressed holistically.”
Shaon Malik, a third-year electrical engineering student at IIT Kharagpur, was found hanging in his room at the Azad Hall of Residence on Sunday when his parents came to meet him.
Devika Pillai, a third-year student of biotechnology, hanged herself in June 2024 from the terrace of Sarojini Naidu Hall of Residence.
In October 2022, Faizan Ahmed, a third-year mechanical engineering student, was found dead in the Lala Lajpat Rai Hall of Residence.
Faizan’s family alleged that he was murdered by senior students in the name of an “assimilation programme”.
On social networking sites, many who claimed to be students of IIT Kharagpur have recently accused the authorities of doing nothing to prevent deaths on the campus apart from putting up the same condolence message whenever there is a death.
Asked for a reaction, Amit Patra, the director of IIT BHU (Varanasi) and the interim director of IIT Kharagpur, said the institute would now frequently interact with students on issues of academic stress management and their well-being.
“We have spoken at length with students on this issue. The institute wants to come up with detailed guidelines,” he told The Telegraph on Wednesday.