Lok Sabha Question No. 219 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-17
Subject: Student Death and Dropout in IITs
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: DHARAM VIRA GANDHI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

## DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 219 TO BE ANSWERED ON 17.07.2017

## Student Death and Dropout in IITs

## 219. SHRI DHARAM VIRA:

Will  the  Minister  of  HUMAN  RESOURCE  DEVELOPMENT  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware of the number of student' deaths and drop out rates of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs);
- (b) if so, the details of such  instances  reported  in the current year, Institution-wise and the reasons therefor; and
- (c) whether the students in IITs are encouraged to join de-stressing and other motivational/  psychological  activities  for  total  personality  development and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (DR. MAHENDRA NATH PANDEY)

(a)  to  (c)  :  During  the  current  academic  year,  8  cases  of  death  have  been reported,  which  include  4  unnatural  and  4  accidental  deaths  in  various  IITs. IITs have been taking various steps such as appointment of Student Counselors, organizing  Workshops/Seminars  on  Happiness/Wellness,  regular  sessions  on Yoga,  holding  induction  programs,  extracurricular  activities  including  sports and  cultural  activities  etc.  to  de-stress  the  students  and  for  their  overall personality development.  As regards drop-outs, a total of 889 students dropped out from various pgorammes in IITs, which include 630 in Postgraduate, 196 in Ph.D and 63 in Undergraduate programmes. The main reasons for Ph.D. and Postgraduate students leaving the courses midway are the offers for placement in  Public  Sector  Enterprises,  and  personal  preference  for  better  opportunities elsewhere. The drop out in Undergraduate  programmes  is  attributed to withdrawal due to wrong choices filled, poor performance and personal reasons. Details of deaths and drop-outs in each IITs are annexed.

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REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (c) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION  NO.  219  TO  BE  ANSWERED  ON  17.07.2017  REGARDING 'STUDENT DEATH AND DROPOUT IN IITs' ASKED BY SHRI DHARAM VIRA:

## Details of student's death in IITs

|   Sl. No. | Name of the institute   |   No. of student death | Reasons of death                                                                                 |
|-----------|-------------------------|------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|         1 | IIT Kharagpur           |                     03 | All the death cases were unnatural and the final reports from the police have not been received. |
|         2 | IIT Madras              |                     01 | Accident.                                                                                        |
|         3 | IIT Roorkee             |                     01 | Accident.                                                                                        |
|         4 | IIT BHU Varanasi        |                     01 | Committed suicide.                                                                               |
|         5 | IIT Bhubaneswar         |                     01 | Died on 24.10.2016 due to asphyxia caused by drowning under sea water (Bay of Bengal).           |
|         6 | IIT Mandi               |                     01 | Died due to drowning in the river.                                                               |

## Details of student's dropout in IITs

| Sl. No.   | Name of the institute   | Number of dropout   | Number of dropout   | Number of dropout   | Number of dropout   |
|-----------|-------------------------|---------------------|---------------------|---------------------|---------------------|
| Sl. No.   | Name of the institute   | UG                  | PG                  | Ph.D                | Total               |
| 1.        | IIT Kharagpur           | 12                  | 82                  | 0                   | 94                  |
| 2.        | IIT Bombay              | 0                   | 52                  | 19                  | 71                  |
| 3.        | IIT Delhi               | 3                   | 180                 | 0                   | 183                 |
| 4.        | IIT Kanpur              | 15                  | 140                 | 0                   | 155                 |
| 5.        | IIT Madras              | 0                   | 0                   | 0                   | 0                   |
| 6.        | IIT Guwahati            | 3                   | 0                   | 0                   | 3                   |
| 7.        | IIT Roorkee             | 25                  | 112                 | 102                 | 239                 |
| 8.        | IIT BHU(Varanasi)       | 0                   | 0                   | 0                   | 0                   |
| 9.        | IIT Hyderabad           | 01                  | 35                  | 24                  | 60                  |
| 10.       | IIT Jodhpur             | 0                   | 0                   | 04                  | 04                  |
| 11.       | IIT Gandhinagar         | 0                   | 0                   | 0                   | 0                   |
| 12.       | IIT Bhubaneswar         | 0                   | 16                  | 15                  | 31                  |
| 13.       | IIT Patna               | 0                   | 8                   | 11                  | 19                  |
| 14.       | IIT Indore              | 01                  | 5                   | 12                  | 18                  |
| 15.       | IIT Ropar               | 2                   | 0                   | 0                   | 2                   |
| 16.       | IIT Mandi               | 0                   | 0                   | 09                  | 9                   |
| 17.       | IIT Palakkad            | 01                  | 0                   | 0                   | 1                   |
|           | Total                   | 63                  | 630                 | 196                 | 889                 |
| 18.       | IIT Tirupati            |                     |                     |                     |                     |
| 19.       | IIT Bhilai              |                     |                     |                     |                     |
| 20.       | IIT Goa                 | No Drop Outs        | No Drop Outs        | No Drop Outs        | No Drop Outs        |
| 21.       | IIT Dharwad             |                     |                     |                     |                     |
| 22.       | IIT Jammu               |                     |                     |                     |                     |
| 23.       | IIT (ISM) Dhanbad       |                     |                     |                     |                     |