IIT-KGP appoints dean to take care of college students’ well-being following a number of suicides | Schooling

Director Suman Chakraborty informed PTI on Saturday that Arun Chakraborty, professor at Centre for Ocean, River, Environment and Land Sciences of the premier institute, was appointed because the dean of scholars’ well-being on August 5 and has taken cost.

Arun Chakraborty is actively concerned within the induction programme for freshers for the BTech course and is well-versed with their points, the director added.

“Whereas there was a dean of scholar affairs for years at IIT Kharagpur, like in different institutes, we’ve created this new publish solely to deal with college students’ well-being, their holistic improvement and help them in any scenario. He will likely be each their pal in addition to their instructor and mentor. Somewhat than being confined within the workplace, he’ll meet the scholars on the floor stage in teams and privately,” the director added.

To a query, he mentioned this was in all probability the primary time that such a publish of ‘dean of scholars’ well-being’ was created in any institute within the nation, primarily to deal with college students’ well-being, as well as with the prevailing publish of dean of scholar affairs.

Whereas there’s a dean of scholar affairs, the director identified that ‘scholar affairs’ and ‘scholar well-being’ are distinct. Whereas the dean of scholar affairs is said extra to administrative and tutorial points, the dean of scholars’ well-being could be focussed on the psychological well being of the scholars.

On whether or not the publish has been created within the wake of the alleged suicidal deaths of 4 college students on campus in seven months, the director mentioned, “We want none of our kids is confronted with extra stress and stress.”

“Earlier, college students received admitted to IIT-Kharagpur, their dad and mom would have remained assured that their tutorial progress, internship and participation in extracurricular actions would have been taken care of. Now, the institute has been carrying on the programmes with the identical zeal.

“However, with the change in socio-economic circumstances, the psychological situation of the scholars additionally may need modified. I’m already interacting with the dad and mom alternately each month in order that the scholars usually are not saddled with further stress throughout trip. We’re at all times on their facet in each scenario,” he added.

Whereas fourth-year mechanical engineering scholar Ritam Mondal was discovered hanging in his hostel room on July 18, three different boarders had been discovered useless in comparable circumstances since January. IIT-Kharagpur has 21 hostels housing 16,000 college students.

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