NEW DELHI: Facing heightened scrutiny over student well-being, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi issued a detailed statement asserting that student welfare remains at the heart of its academic ecosystem, with several measures in place to reduce stress, strengthen mental-health support and improve grievance redressal.
The institute pointed to its 2025 curriculum overhaul as a key intervention. “First-semester credit loads have been reduced, life-skills courses
introduced and first-year departmental classes capped at 30-60 students. Weekend examinations have been minimised and, from 2024-25, the minimum CGPA requirement for the BTech degree was scrapped,” IIT Delhi said in its statement.
The institute said students have access to round-the-clock mental-health support, including counsellors and psychiatrists, with experts from AIIMS and VIMHANS involved. External mental-health treatment is fully reimbursed, while an emergency response protocol and Academic Unit Wellness Committees are intended to provide additional layers of support.
Indian Institute of TechnologyDelhi also highlighted its expanding mentorship network. The ‘UG Buddy Programme’ has been extended to postgraduate and international students, while faculty-student interaction is facilitated through semester-wise meetings, office hours, project guidance and Class Committee feedback. On academic difficulties, the institute said that its Academic Progress Group has provided evening tutoring and credit-backlog support since 2023.
The statement also outlined a multi-tier grievance mechanism, including the ERP portal, Board for Student Welfare, SC/ST and OBC cells, hostel wardens, the Internal Complaints Committee and confidential counselling channels.
On inclusion, the Institute said its Office of Diversity and Inclusion has been operational since 2022, along with the induction and sensitisation initiatives addressing caste, gender, language, region and ethnicity. IIT Delhi said it would continue to strengthen its support systems, asserting that student well-being remains an “absolute priority”.
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi has reconstituted an external inquiry committee to probe the circumstances surrounding the death of a 31-year-old MSc Physics student. The committee will submit its report within two weeks.
The committee will be headed by Justice Mukta Gupta, a retired judge of the Delhi High Court. It will also include Professor Pratap Sharan, head of the Department of Psychiatry at AIIMS New Delhi; four student representatives; and the Registrar, who will serve as Secretary and Convenor, IIT Delhi said.
The committee will interact with relevant students, faculty members, and officials from concerned administrative offices. It will review existing protocols and processes and make recommendations based on its findings.
The panel has been reconstituted after former Uttarakhand Director General of Police Ashok Kumar, who had been named as the chairperson formed by IIT Delhi to investigate the student’s death, withdrew from the inquiry, citing prior commitments.