World · India Bureau
IITs critically understaffed in mental health counselling, RTI reveals
A Right to Information query has exposed significant gaps in mental health support across India's premier engineering institutes, with only one IIT meeting University Grants Commission guidelines. The findings emerge as student suicides at these institutions continue to rise.
LSN India ·
An RTI response has laid bare the shortage of mental health counsellors at Indian Institutes of Technology, revealing that nearly all premier engineering colleges fall short of University Grants Commission recommendations for psychological support staff.
According to the data, only IIT Ropar currently maintains counsellor-to-student ratios that align with UGC guidelines on mental health and wellbeing. The remaining IITs operate with substantially fewer mental health professionals than prescribed, despite their large student populations spanning undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.
The disclosure comes at a critical juncture, with student suicides across IITs showing an upward trajectory over the past five years. Mental health experts have long flagged the intense academic pressure and competitive environment at these institutions as contributing factors to psychological distress among students.
The UGC guidelines stipulate minimum counsellor staffing levels to ensure adequate mental health coverage, but the RTI findings suggest widespread non-compliance. The gap between recommended and actual staffing raises questions about institutional capacity to address emerging student welfare challenges.
The data is expected to intensify scrutiny on how India's top engineering colleges prioritize student mental health infrastructure alongside academic excellence, potentially prompting administrative action to bridge the counselling gap.