The SC/ST Students’ Cell at IIT Bombay – which has college students as members and school as convenors – held two surveys final 12 months, one in February and one other in June. The first survey was geared toward collating information to know the lifetime of SC/ST college students on campus and the issues they face whereas the second survey centered on the psychological well being of reserved class college students. The surveys had been despatched to all SC/ST college students of the institute (round 2,000 of them), out of which 388 participated within the February survey and 134 within the June survey. The findings of the 2 surveys are but to be formally launched by the institute.

Earlier this month, an interim report by the institute on the demise by suicide of Darshan Solanki, a first-year pupil on the institute, dominated out caste-based discrimination as alleged by his household whereas citing his “deteriorating academic performance” and his introvert nature.

According to the findings of the June survey, SC/ST college students desire to cover their identification to flee the stigma of reservation.

“It was very significant that despite a hostile environment in IITs, 9 per cent of the students (12 students) attributed caste as a substantial reason for their mental health problems. Four students also identified professors’ casteist and discriminatory attitudes as the reason for their mental health issues,” states the report, including that “in IITs, caste appears in the form of reservations which is seen as a ‘loss of merit’. Hence the SC/ST students are looked down as students with fewer capabilities.”

The first survey report, carried out in February final 12 months, states that “caste functions very differently in different spaces and articulates itself in different ways”. The survey exhibits that just about 1 / 4 of the SC/ST college students come from vernacular, rural and humble socio-economic household backgrounds. Many of them mentioned “fluency in English is one of the criteria to identify your caste”.

The June survey findings identified that a minimum of “23.5 per cent of the respondents needed proper attention by the institution, which needs to provide them with the required mental health assistance”.

The survey additionally discovered that 22.2 per cent of the respondents had been apprehensive about each SC/ST Cell and Student Wellness Centre (SWC), which give help on psychological well being on the campus. “27.4 per cent of SC/ST students want the SWC to not approach them ‘but they want only the SC/ST student cell to help them’,” said the report, hinting at mistrust amongst college students relating to the psychological well being service obtainable on the institute.

Reacting to the survey, IIT Bombay, in an announcement, mentioned that the findings of the survey had not been shared with the administration but.

“It may be noted that none of the survey results were shared with the IIT senior administration, but the SC/ST Students’ Cell has taken several steps to address issues raised in the surveys,” it mentioned. The assertion shared by the IIT administration additionally identified that the surveys had been performed earlier than the present first-year batch entered IIT. “Thus it provides no specific inputs on the experience of the current first-year batch,” it said.