IIT Delhi has decided to cancel one of its mid-semester test sets in an effort to make things easier for its students. Rangan Banerjee, the film’s director

According to the head of the school, Rangan Banerjee, the Indian school of Technology in Delhi has changed its grading system and eliminated a series of mid-semester tests in order to lessen the amount of stress that its students experience.

The decision was made in light of the fact that there have been several instances of students committing suicide at different IITs, which has created a discussion regarding whether or not the curriculum and the demanding study schedule are having an effect on the mental health of students.

 

“In the past, we used to have two different examinations over the course of a semester, final examinations at the conclusion of each semester, and various other procedures for continual assessment. After conducting an internal poll and considering the responses from all of the students and the teaching staff, we have decided to eliminate one of the sets of tests. As a result, in addition to the regular assessments, there will now be two other examinations to choose from,” Banerjee said in an interview with the PTI.

 

We believed that the test schedule was excessively busy, and as a result, we made the decision to ease the strain and stress on students. The decision, which has also been accepted by the Senate, will begin to be put into effect beginning with the current academic term. A total of eighty percent of the possible weightage has been set aside for the two tests,” he went on to say.

 

During its meeting in April, the IIT Council came to the conclusion that there is a need for a strong grievance redressal mechanism; an increase in the number of psychological counseling services; and a reduction in the pressure, fear of failure, and rejection among students.

 

During the discussion, there was much conversation about the problem of student suicide, the allegation of prejudice, and the need of looking out for the mental health of students.

 

IITs have recorded the largest number of student suicide cases over the course of the last five years, according to data that was presented before Parliament the previous month.

 

IITs were the location of at least 39 suicides out of a total of 98 that occurred in top higher education institutions in India between the years of 2018 and 2023.

 

“IIT Delhi is pushing to strengthen some mentorship and interactive verticals, especially to encourage interactions with students outside of the classrooms, preferably on an individual level,” Banerjee said. “This is in addition to existing mechanisms to deal with stress and ensure mental well-being among the students.”

 

“We are also increasing the frequency of ‘open house’ interactions with students in addition to the frequency of periodic informal dinners or meals between students and faculty in small groups through the existing Student-Teacher Interaction Council,” he said. “Open house” interactions are interactions that are held in a setting that is open to the public and are intended to foster communication between students and professors.

 

Additionally, the institution is fostering contacts between faculty members and students via academic-domain-independent as well as academic-domain-dependent faculty mentorships.

 

While discussing the issue of student suicides, Banerjee said, “Students at IITs come through a highly competitive procedure, they have come into a classroom where there are so many individuals who are really clever…We need to be able to provide individuals advice on how to deal with disappointment…This is something that we are putting a lot of emphasis on.

 

“We have increased the number of people who are available to provide counseling; now, in addition to trained professionals, we also have students working in our hostels. “We want to keep an eye on students whose performance is declining so that we can provide appropriate mentoring for them,” he said.

 

According to what Banerjee had to say, “Any suicide is a tragedy, and it’s heartbreaking for everyone.” We need to provide an environment that makes it easy for students to obtain the help they need when they are having emotional or mental difficulties. If a kid is having problems, they should be able to talk to someone and get the appropriate counseling and mentoring at the appropriate time.

 

A final-year Bachelor of Technology student at IIT Delhi, who was 20 years old, took his own life at a campus dormitory last month.

 

The relatives of the dead student reportedly disclosed to us that he was dissatisfied with his performance in a few of courses in the most recent tests for his last year of school, as reported by police officers who are investigating the issue.