Lok Sabha Question No. 2384 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-18
Subject: Open House in IIT Delhi
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Y. S. Avinash Reddy, Manne Srinivas Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2384 ANSWERED ON-18/12/2023

## Open House in IIT Delhi

## 2384.  SHRI Y.S. AVINASH REDDY: SHRI MANNE SRINIVAS REDDY:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether students attending an 'Open House' in IIT Delhi highlighted the failure of the institute  to  provide  academic  support  to  the  marginalized  students  and  efficient student  counseling  services  besides  inadequate  representation  of  faculty  members from the backward sections and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the students have submitted a set of demands to ensure that such unfortunate deaths  do  not  recur  and  the  charter  of  demands  cited  an  RTI  to  point  out  that  14 departments have no ST/SC faculty members, 24 have no ST teachers, 15 have no SC teachers and 9 departments have no OBC faculty members; and
- (c) the details of those in distress who contacted the Society for Mental Health Suicide Prevention helpline 011-40769002 till now and help extended to them so far?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## (DR. SUBHAS SARKAR)

(a) & (b): As informed by IIT Delhi, institute has constituted an Academic Progress Group (AGP)  to  help  all  undergraduate  students  to  successfully  complete  their  programme,  to identify  and  provide  individual  assistance  to  students  in  need  of  academic  support,  to interface with academic units & hostels, to suggest required policy changes etc. Suggestions shared by the students for improvement in the Counselling Services such as hiring of new counsellors, strengthening of feedback systems, empanelment of outside-in-person counselling  services,  increasing  number  and  types  of  counselling  services,  etc.  have  been implemented.

The Government, in order to ensure uniformity in adoption of reservation norms, and adequate  representation  of  SC/ST  &  OBC  category  faculty  positions  in  the Central Educational Institutions, enacted the Central Education Institutions (Reservation in Teachers' Cadre)  Act,  2019.  SC/ST  cell  has  been  established  at  IIT  Delhi  with  a  mandate  to  ensure effective  implementation,  monitor  and  continuously  evaluate  the  reservation  policy  for SC/STs  and  OBCs  in  respect  of  admissions,  appointments  to  teaching  and  non-teaching positions, etc. as laid down by the Government of India.

(c): The helpline no. 011-40769002 belongs to Sanjivini Society for Mental Health, which is a  registered  non-profit  voluntary  organization.  IIT  Delhi  informed  that  the  information pertaining to this helpline number of Sanjivini Society for Mental Health is made available to the student community through the official Institute Counselling Portal (https://bsw.iitd.ac.in/counselling.php).  As  per  confidentiality  clauses  pertaining  to  use  of mental-health-help services, record of students utilizing these services is not available with IIT Delhi.

The Government of India initiative, named MANODARPAN, covers a wide range of activities to provide psychological support to students, teachers and families for mental and emotional well-being. Besides this, students' specialised psychological counselling helplines, students'  wellness  centres,  buddy-support  system  and  various  other  measures  have  been implemented  in  IITs  and  other  Institutions,  for  early  detection  of  cases  of  psychological stress.

University Grants Commission (UGC) (Redress of Grievances of Students) Regulations, 2019 have been formulated to safe guard the interest of students. To address the issue  of  mental  health  and  well-being,  UGC  had  issued  advisories  to  Higher  Education Institutions (HEIs) on 05.04.2020. UGC has also circulated the National Suicide Prevention Strategy, 2021 formulated by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Further, IIT Delhi organized Workshop on Mental Wellness & Stress Management for the  Northern  region,  on  30 th May,  2023  in  order  to  find  practical  tools  and  techniques  to manage stress in Educational Institutes/ workplace so as to improve mental wellbeing and to know about the various mechanisms being utilized by other institutions to handle the mental well-being  of  students.  Similar  workshops  were  organized  by  IIT  Madras  (for  Southern region), IIT Gandhinagar (for Western region), and IIT Guwahati (for Eastern region) on 12 th May, 2023, 9 th -10 th June, 2023, and 26 th August, 2023 respectively.

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