Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday called for complete eradication of social discrimination from campuses of educational institutions.
Chairing the 55th IIT Council meeting here, he said students of Indian Institute of Technology must aspire to become job creators rather than job seekers.
Addressing reporters after the meeting, he said, "There should be no social discrimination in any institute, be it IITs or private institutions. It is the responsibility of the authorities and the students to ensure that there is no discrimination on campuses."
With 34 students of various IITs dying by suicide over the last five years, he called upon the directors to be proactive in providing all kinds of support and develop and robust mechanism of "zero tolerance" for discrimination on campuses.
The council discussed steps needed to ensure mental health wellness among students. It focussed on the need for a robust grievance redressal system, increasing psychological counselling, reducing pressure and highlighting the importance of reducing fear of failure or rejection among students.
IIT Gandhinagar director presented the possible underlying societal, psychological and other health issues behind depression among students. The reasons for student drop-out were also discussed in the council meeting.
Pradhan said IITs should be primary vehicle for public welfare, become catalyst for multi-fold development of the country. He said the R&D fair should be an annual event on fixed dates and should be open to students from across the country.
The council also discussed ways to fill vacancies at the earliest under the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers' Cadre) Act, 2019. It also discussed proposals to introduce four-year Bed programme in IITs.
-With PTI Input
