Hyderabad University students’ body demands investigation on increasing suicide rates in IITs

NEW DELHI: The Hyderabad University’s Ambedkar Students’ Association has condemned the growing number of suicides among students in the Indian Institute of Tecnology (IIT) Hyderabad with the most recent incident of suicide of a first-year MTech student, Mamitha Nayak.

The incidents shed light on the academic pressure the students go through, particularly those from socio-economically marginalised backgrounds and the need for systemic change.

Expressing dismay over the increasing number of deaths at IIT Hyderabad, the Ambedkar Students’ Association has demanded a thorough investigation into the departments to which the affected students belonged.

ALSO READ| IIT Hyderabad woman student from Odisha dies by suicide in hostel room

The students association has also urged for the identification of the needs of first-generation learners from marginalised castes within institutions like IIT. Strengthening grievance mechanisms and providing additional academic support to students from marginalised backgrounds are also among the Ambedkar Students’ Association’s key demands.

IIT Hyderabad has witnessed four suicides in the past 12 months raising questions about the support systems in place for vulnerable students. The most recent case involves that of a 21-year Dalit student from Odisha, Mamitha Nayak. She was pursuing her first year of MTech when she took her own life on August 7, allegedly due to academic pressure.

ALSO READ| University of Hyderabad, DRDO join to facilitate research in high energy materials

Three weeks before Nayak's demise, on July 17, D Karthik, a second-year BTech student, went missing from the hostel. His body was discovered three days later on the shores of Visakhapatnam. Karthik, belonging to a tribal community, was grappling with academic setbacks and backlog issues.

Research findings, based on RTIs, revealed that SC, ST and OBC reservations, mandated in faculty recruitment and student admissions at IITs and National Institutes of Technology (NITs), have not been adequately implemented, the ASA statement alleged. These institutes, it added, dominate students and faculty from privileged castes. This situation is leading to academic stress, feelings of isolation, and a lack of academic resources for those who need it most.

“Having an option of psychological counselling for students to deal with academic stress is highly inadequate if a simultaneous mechanism for academic support is unavailable” an official statement read.

Condemning the rising incidents of suicides in IIT-Hyderabad! #JaiBhim #AsaHcu pic.twitter.com/tnvU7mFdfo

— ASA HCU (@asahcu) August 13, 2023