Chennai: To sensitise parents not to put extra pressure on their wards, IIT Madras on Saturday conducted a separate counselling session for parents of BTech students who joined the institute this year. This year, the counselling to parents had two former students explaining the expectations of students from their parents. Professors, psychiatrists and counsellors explained the mental health problems and doubts that were unique to IIT students.A mental health survey among the BTech students last year found that up to 13% of freshers entering IIT Madras have stress-related issues. The sessions were aimed at enlightening the parents about the pressures their wards might face while studying in IIT, including about grades, internships and job offers, and how parents can play a supportive role in the academic journey.
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“In IIT, everybody in the class is a top ranker. They are all exactly the same. We dont give ranks, we only give relative grading. It can be very demoralising if parents compare their scores or grades with past performance. Students’ own expectation will put them under pressure. Parents should moderate their expectations,” said professor Prathap Haridoss, dean (academics), IIT Madras.He asked parents to pay attention to whether their kids were sleeping well, eating well and to their social life, including friends inside the campus. He also told parents to enquire if a student misses classes in a row.“The teaching in schools and IIT is completely different, where students in IITs have to study on their own. Students tend to take time to adjust to the new way of learning. All students may not get the Day 1 jobs and growth takes time,” said professor Sathyanarayana N Gummadi, dean of students, IIT Madras.He also highlighted the successful alumni who chose different career paths, including civil services, entrepreneurship and academics.IIT Madras alumni Degala Chaitanya Kumar and Avinash Abhishek shared their experiences. Avinash Abhishek said the comforting words from his mother helped him to bag a job offer in his last campus interview.Two IFS officers from Karnataka, Biswajit Mishra and Saswati Mishra, and parents of a final-year student shared how one of their daughters struggled to cope with the academics and the timely help from the institute helped her to continue in IIT.Dr Yamini Kannappan, consultant psychiatrist from Kauvery Hospital, asked the parents to identify the early signs of distress. S Srividya, chief psychologist from Myndwell, spoke about how different addictions could impact students during the academic programme.Ram Babu, a veteran from the Indian Air Force from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, had several concerns about the well-being of his kid who joined BTech this year at IIT Madras. After attending a three-hour-long counselling session for parents, he said he understood the pressures of studying in IIT and will try not to put extra pressure.
