IIT Delhi freshers get counselling, support

The management at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, is leaving no stone unturned to bring the campus atmosphere back to normal following the suicide of 19-year-old student Dinesh Ahlawat on August 4. Shaswati Das reports.

The management at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, is leaving no stone unturned to bring the campus atmosphere back to normal following the suicide of 19-year-old student Dinesh Ahlawat on August 4.

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Students have been counselled repeatedly and made to go through several sessions with senior students assisting in the process.

“There is a strong system of student counsellors, who provide support to first year students within the first 15 days of joining. Following the suicide, our in-house counsellor was available at all times to help students come to terms with the situation,” said Shashi Mathur, Dean of Students, IIT.

The institute’s hostel functionaries and the Board of Students’ Welfare, which comprises third and fourth year students, also played an active role in easing the situation.

“The entire episode came as a shock when we learnt that one of our batchmates had committed suicide, without any provocation at all. But the seniors were quite supportive and even though it might take some time to get over the shock, things are a lot calmer now,” said Rohan Kumar (name changed), a first year student.

The first year students have also been made to undergo a counselling programme that forms a part of their curriculum.