IIT panel to find ways to reduce academic stress on students
Panel to come up after committee to probe Darshan’s suicide pointed out ‘deteriorating academic performance’
3 min read
Ruling out any caste-based discrimination as alleged by Darshan's
family and some students’
collectives on IIT Bombay campus, the probe instead mentioned his 'deteriorating academic performance'. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has formed a separate committee to examine how to reduce academic stress on students, especially those in the first year. After an interim report submitted by a panel, which was probing the suicide of Darshan Solanki, a first-year student in IIT Bombay, cited his ‘deteriorating academic performance’ as a possible cause, the institute has swung into action.
This new committee, The Indian Express has learnt, comprises professors from various departments who will be looking at ways to reduce academic pressure on first-year students. The institute believes that academic stress in the first year affects the confidence level of students and further impacts the remaining course years on campus. This indicates a need to intervene in the first year of the course, according to IIT authorities.
Pointing out that the panel has cited the academic challenges that reportedly played a significant role in Darshan’s case, a senior official from IIT-Bombay told The Indian Express, “Apart from this individual case, various other students and mentees have mentioned how academic challenges in the first year shatter the confidence level of students. This can lead to inferiority complex, especially when you have been a topper in your class but are struggling to pass or are at the bottom after entering IIT. And if something goes wrong in the first year, it cascades into subsequent years.”
The official underlined that the new panel will not limit its efforts to those coming on reserved category seats but will extend it to those admitted in various other categories such as persons with disabilities, and other students.
Stating that particulars of the committee’s tasks on what exactly will be looked into are at a nascent stage, the official said that the committee is expected to submit its report within three weeks, following which the recommendations will be submitted before the senate for approval. “These new changes will be from the next academic year, after all the approvals. No major changes can be made to the current batch,” said the official, adding that the administration had already introduced some major curriculum changes from this batch by including various non-core-engineering subjects such as entrepreneurship, management and humanities, among others, to provide broader exposure.
Darshan Solanki, a first-year chemical engineering student at IIT Bombay, died by suicide on February 12, a day after his semester exam got over. Darshan allegedly jumped from the seventh floor of hostel 16 on campus, where he was living. His family had alleged caste-based discrimination on campus, stating that it led him to take such a drastic step.
The 12-member committee constituted by the institute to investigate the circumstances leading to the death submitted an eight-page interim report on March 2, sharing a copy of it with the central government. Ruling out any caste-based discrimination as alleged by Darshan’s family and some students’ collectives on IIT Bombay campus, the probe instead mentioned his ‘deteriorating academic performance’.
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