The Supreme Court-appointed National Task Force (NTF), tasked with examining the mental well-being issues of students in India, interacted with students, wardens, hall management officials, and deans at IIT Kharagpur on Thursday.

The NTF on the mental health of students and the prevention of student suicides in higher education institutes was set up by the apex court through a March 24 judgment. The NTF is chaired by ex-SC judge S Ravindra Bhat.

IIT Kharagpur has witnessed the fourth suicide in seven months, and the fifth in a year.

The task force interacted with faculty members, wardens, and deans in the morning. From 11 am to 1 pm, the team interacted with around 30 students at Senate Hall, where they discussed various issues. The NTF also visited Radha Krishnan Hall of Residence and Sarojini Naidu-Indira Gandhi Hall of Residence.

A student said, “The task force asked us about the quality of the counselling centre, whether students and research scholars face harassment from supervisors and faculty advisors, and about casteism on the campus. Though the counselling centre has been restructured, there is a need to strengthen the support system further with more mental health experts. There is also a need to sensitise the staff at the counselling centre.”

“The students pointed out that there are underlying and implicit caste tensions on campus. There have been a few instances where research scholars faced casteist remarks and body shaming, but nothing has been done,” a research scholar shared.

Without naming any faculty member, students and research scholars acknowledged that “students face harassment from a section of professors and are often victims of the vindictive attitude of faculty members”. A source said, “Students said there is a need to re-evaluate the fear culture around grades, deadlines, and academic pressure, especially when it is weaponised unintentionally against students. Students flagged the issue of the need to sensitise teachers, so that they treat students with empathy. Students also told the task force about the parental pressure regarding good placement and internships.”

Director Suman Chakraborty, during the interaction with the panel, highlighted the new initiatives that the institute has taken to address students’ well-being issues, like the AI-driven mental-wellness initiative SETU, the appointment of a dean of student well-being, restructuring of the counselling centre, students’ task force at hostels, stress management workshops, and others.

“The NTF team had an untutored interaction with students and faculty members. During a brief interaction with me, they told us to focus more on human-centric interventions, along with technological interventions. They also highlighted the need for more facilities for disabled students,” Chakraborty said.