Published: Sunday, Dec 4, 2005, 20:26 IST
Agency: DNA
IITians who succumbed:
Lokesh Chand, a third year student Electronics Engineering at IIT Roorkee hung himself in his room on November 11, 2005
Swapnil Chandrakant Dharaskar, a second-year student of mechanical engineering at Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, jumped to his death on November 16, 2005
Vijay Nukala from IIT-Powai, Mumbai from finaly year Physics hung himself from the fan on November 16, 2005
I don't believe that the amount of pressure faced by the students is unbearable. If anything, the stress while preparing for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) is much more. Any person who gets through the JEE can sail through the engineering programme with much ease. What is a cause of worry is the way a lot of students spend their free time these days. Instead of using time for recreation outdoors, many are glued to their computer sceen. This eventually affects the grades and piles up the stress. — Lalit Solanki
I wonder what’s all the talk about IIT students being overworked and stressed. Anyone who puts in a modest amount of effort can fare well in the exams. Even if you fail in a paper, you have ample of time to clear it. I think people who eventually get stressed out are the ones who get distracted mid-way. All you have to do is be regular with your studies, which is not asking for too much considering that IIT-Powai is one of the best institutes in the business. — Hemant Kumar
We must look closely before we accuse the IIT and its systems of murder. Often, the pressure comes from family and friends. Nevertheless, the institute has a fantastic support system should a problem arise. We usually discuss our problems with our seniors who guide us through. We also have faculty advisors who are specifically designated to solve our problems. They are very friendly and approachable and most of the issues get resolved once we talk it out with them. We have provisions for professional counselling, should all else fail. — Nitesh Gawali
I see no problem with the system which has been tried and tested for decades. This is the same system that has churned out geniuses time and again. I think the problem begins when people come in to the institute with vague assumptions and expectations. If you come in with the aim of learning, the institute has a tremendous amount to offer. Unfortunately, a few people see the IIT as a sophisticated employment bureau. They see this as a means to earn a lucrative job and this perspective can be hazardous. This tends to make people focus too much on the grades and they miss out on a lot of learning in the process. The IIT does expect a lot out of its students, but by no stretch of imagination is it unreasonable. There's no point blaming the system for everything that goes wrong. There may be a few drawbacks, but there seems to be no fundamental flaw in it. — Aditya Paranjape
A few people do complain about the stress they face in the IIT and that is only fair. However, there are many other ways to deal with the pressure than ending one's life. Low grades seems to be the prime source of stress. However, it would be unwise to attribute suicides to poor scores only. There is a combination of factors which include academic and personal which add up to the stress. A lot of students arrive with unreal expectations from the institute and the conflict between what they expect and what they face can lead to stress.
Different people react differently to stress and it is not always the system that's at fault. When you come in with the object of landing a job at the end of the fourth year, you tend to take it easy in the beginning.
Eventually, after three years you realise that you have learnt little and that can really stress you out. The system has worked over the years but it must keep evolving with time to deliver the best results. — Ashivni Shekhawas
Agency: DNA
IITians who succumbed:
Lokesh Chand, a third year student Electronics Engineering at IIT Roorkee hung himself in his room on November 11, 2005
Swapnil Chandrakant Dharaskar, a second-year student of mechanical engineering at Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, jumped to his death on November 16, 2005
Vijay Nukala from IIT-Powai, Mumbai from finaly year Physics hung himself from the fan on November 16, 2005
I don't believe that the amount of pressure faced by the students is unbearable. If anything, the stress while preparing for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) is much more. Any person who gets through the JEE can sail through the engineering programme with much ease. What is a cause of worry is the way a lot of students spend their free time these days. Instead of using time for recreation outdoors, many are glued to their computer sceen. This eventually affects the grades and piles up the stress. — Lalit Solanki
I wonder what’s all the talk about IIT students being overworked and stressed. Anyone who puts in a modest amount of effort can fare well in the exams. Even if you fail in a paper, you have ample of time to clear it. I think people who eventually get stressed out are the ones who get distracted mid-way. All you have to do is be regular with your studies, which is not asking for too much considering that IIT-Powai is one of the best institutes in the business. — Hemant Kumar
We must look closely before we accuse the IIT and its systems of murder. Often, the pressure comes from family and friends. Nevertheless, the institute has a fantastic support system should a problem arise. We usually discuss our problems with our seniors who guide us through. We also have faculty advisors who are specifically designated to solve our problems. They are very friendly and approachable and most of the issues get resolved once we talk it out with them. We have provisions for professional counselling, should all else fail. — Nitesh Gawali
I see no problem with the system which has been tried and tested for decades. This is the same system that has churned out geniuses time and again. I think the problem begins when people come in to the institute with vague assumptions and expectations. If you come in with the aim of learning, the institute has a tremendous amount to offer. Unfortunately, a few people see the IIT as a sophisticated employment bureau. They see this as a means to earn a lucrative job and this perspective can be hazardous. This tends to make people focus too much on the grades and they miss out on a lot of learning in the process. The IIT does expect a lot out of its students, but by no stretch of imagination is it unreasonable. There's no point blaming the system for everything that goes wrong. There may be a few drawbacks, but there seems to be no fundamental flaw in it. — Aditya Paranjape
A few people do complain about the stress they face in the IIT and that is only fair. However, there are many other ways to deal with the pressure than ending one's life. Low grades seems to be the prime source of stress. However, it would be unwise to attribute suicides to poor scores only. There is a combination of factors which include academic and personal which add up to the stress. A lot of students arrive with unreal expectations from the institute and the conflict between what they expect and what they face can lead to stress.
Different people react differently to stress and it is not always the system that's at fault. When you come in with the object of landing a job at the end of the fourth year, you tend to take it easy in the beginning.
Eventually, after three years you realise that you have learnt little and that can really stress you out. The system has worked over the years but it must keep evolving with time to deliver the best results. — Ashivni Shekhawas
