India wants more IITs to have wellness centers to curb stress and depression

• The Indian government wants to address mental disorders and well-being of students and prevent suicides at the higher educational institutions.
  
• India has the highest student suicide rate with over 38,000 students committing suicide since 2015.
  
• It is looking to associate with more than 300 counsellors, including private partners via online mechanism by next month.
  
• Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS) — regulatory body of mental health professionals — has formulated a team to tackle mental health issues of college-going students.
  

The Indian government wants to address mental disorders and well-being of students and prevent suicides.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has laid out a counselling plan for country’s most prestigious institutes — Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) — and other higher educational institutions, The Print reported.

Each day, about six students commit suicide due to academic failure. India has the highest student suicide rate with nearly 38,000 students committing suicide since 2015.

The decision was taken during the IIT council meeting where the ministry directed the IITs to establish wellness centres, looping in professional counsellors. “Yes, the matter was discussed at the IIT council meeting and all the IITs have been asked to make sure that they have wellness centres and professional counsellors,” ministry officials told ThePrint.

This decision comes after a student at IIT Hyderabad committed suicide leaving behind a note saying ‘Sorry I turned out to be a waste.’ The student quoted academic pressure as the cause.

Of the 23 IITs, Delhi, Mumbai and Madras campuses have wellness centres. The government now wants other institutions to have them as well. It is considering to associating with more than 300 counsellors, including private partners via online mechanism by next month.

The ministry also asked the institutes to consult with faculty members to spot students under stress or any mental disorder, so as to provide them counselling.

On the similar lines, Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS) — regulatory body of mental health professionals — formulated a team to tackle mental health issues of college-going students. It consists of three psychiatrists — Dr. Kersi Chavda, Dr. Avinash Desouza, and Dr. Amrit Pattojoshi.

“India is a young country. We are all set to have a huge population between the age group of 16 and 25. They struggle with increasing competition, internet, mobile addiction, drug use, and a constant tussle between traditional and modern. We are staring at an increased number of depression and suicide cases,” Dr Chavda told The Hindu.

See also:
Fear, self-loathing and stress affect students appearing for competitive exams

Not sleeping enough might affect your exam scores, says MIT study