20% students needed help for mental health issue but never sought help during their IIT stint

These figures were part of the Senior Survey released by the institute’s in-house magazine, Insight, this week.

A survey of some students of the graduating batch of the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) has revealed that at least 20% needed to consult a mental health professional during their time at the institute, but never sought one, while 16.3% consulted a mental health professional for a brief period and 5.6% received counselling through their stay.

Almost 38.4% of the respondents admitted to being chain smokers, revealing that they smoked around a pack a day. (Satish Bate/HT Photo)

However, 55.8% of students who participated in the survey said they never needed any such help throughout their course.

These figures were part of the Senior Survey released by the institute’s in-house magazine, Insight, this week.

“Stigma attached to mental health is a big problem and to date, seeking professional help from mental health experts is considered a sign of weakness and low confidence. This could be one of the reasons for students to not seek help despite having the opportunity to do so anonymously on campus,” said a mental health expert who formerly worked with IIT-B.

He added that the institute has a professional set-up and students are always encouraged to share their concerns, however, since many students come from smaller cities, they are still not open to the idea of sharing their problems.

The survey, which took into account responses from 215 students from the graduating batch, also shed light on the time these students spent on campus, their future plans as well as their political inclinations, to name a few.

Demographically, a majority of the students came from Maharashtra, followed by Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. Of these, 32.5% grew up in metros while 38.6% and 23.7% came from small cities and towns across the country, respectively.

According to the survey, almost 38.4% of the respondents admitted to being chain smokers, revealing that they smoked around a pack a day, whereas one in 10 students admitted that they rarely smoke or smoke at least once a day.

“A lot of students start smoking once they joined the institute because they allegedly find it easier to try such vices once they are away from their families, while others just fall prey to peer pressure,” said a student of the institute, on condition of anonymity.

Almost 50% of respondent agreed that they used unfair means at the time of submission of assignments/projects as well as in quizzes, due to various reasons including lack of confidence or no interest in the course.

The survey further revealed that almost 40% of the respondents were neither happy with the hostel nor the food served in the hostel mess. Nearly 25.4% of respondents also highlighted how studying in the competitive environment of the IIT did not help them develop any social skills.

Around 38.1% of the respondents said they planned to appear for the GRE (Graduate Record Examinations), whereas 27.9% will appear for the Common Admissions Test (CAT) for MBA admissions. “Of those surveyed, 74.2% said that job-wise, they have been posted in India, whereas 12% have been posted in the US, and another 4.7% have been posted in Japan, Korea and Taiwan,” highlighted the survey.

In terms of political inclination, 21.4% said they were inclined towards the left, 18.5% were inclined towards the right and around 37.6% stated that they had no political inclination at all.