ELSA ANGEL ROSE
panjim: For students at BITS Pilani, Goa, who have been horrified and numb following the tragic suicide of a 20-year-old student, the “unfair” grading system with less holidays, and the sadistic mentality of a few professors have made their life unbearable.
The second-year student, a native of Lucknow, was found hanging in his hostel room at 10.15 am on Thursday. This is the third such incident in the Goa campus of BITS Pilani in five months.
In an attempt to unearth more details, O Heraldo tried getting in touch with students of the institute. The students at first were unwilling to speak about the tragic incident at the institute, but only a few raised their concerns on condition of anonymity.
A student of BITS Pilani, Goa said, “The boy was decent in studies, had an active social life, was about to become coordinator for the photography club next semester, hence it's confusing why he committed suicide.”
A final year student alleged, “Here, certain professors are extremely sadistic, it’s a pretty hostile environment, Mpower cell (Mental health Initiative of BITS) is for the campus to show to the world that we have a support system, and not to receive any lawsuits, perhaps. Anything the administration does is a well-thought-out PR drive. I am desensitised to this at this point. The college has psychologists, not psychiatrists, so usually they give motivational talks, but it does not offer us a substantial solution to our problem, maybe it is because they are not trained like a psychiatrist.”
Another student said, “Those who have committed suicide are dual degree students; they have a strenuous curriculum. Academic pressure is high, secondly, grading is rigid unlike lenient grading system followed in other campuses of BITS across India, and thirdly the social environment over here is a mix of people from different parts of the country given the location of this institute.”
He said, “Hence difficult to find friends as language and many other factors act as a barrier and if you do not have good friendships, it’s tough to survive in this pressure.”
He elaborated saying, “The college's mental health initiative, Mpower cell, has made therapy available 24/7, which was previously appointment-based. Despite this tragic incident, exams are going on. But we are given an option to not take the exam and attend a makeup test for those exams towards the end of July.”
Information from the BITS Goa Reddit platform
Rigorous conversations are happening on the BITS Pilani Reddit group. Through these posts, students are substantially discussing many factors that constantly pressurise them. A post read, “The intolerable pressure from the demanding dual-degree curriculum, combined with overly harsh professors and unfair grading practices (particularly in some departments), is taking a toll. The administration must recognise this. The Director can send as many condolence or awareness emails as they like, but unless real, structural changes are made, nothing will truly improve.”
All the posts seem to imply that students have become numb to suicides at this point. Another post read, “Not getting enough holidays as IIT’s is the realest thing ever. We don’t get enough leaves either (capped at 12), nor do we get to go home earlier compared to other colleges. On top of that, even weekends are occupied by quizzes, extra lectures, and labs. There is no breathing space at all.”