NIT Kurukshetra Controversy: Health Officials Deny Institute’s Claims on Mental Health Camps

A dispute has arisen between the administration of the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Kurukshetra and the Haryana district health department over the initiative of holding mental health awareness camps on campus. The controversy comes at a very embarrassing time, after an alarming two-month period earlier this year, when four students ended their lives by taking their own lives on campus, leading to widespread student protests and an investigation into the situation by the Haryana Human Rights Commission (HHRC).

Read More: HHRC Launches Inquiry into NIT Kurukshetra Suicide Cases

The RTI Revelations

It came to light in a Right to Information (RTI) application filed by an activist, Vinay Gupta, who is a monitoring and evaluation officer in the psychiatry department at the Government Hospital, Kaithal.

• Zero Camp Records: NIT Kurukshetra’s health centre, in an official reply dated May 18. Explicitly stated that it did not have any record of mental health awareness camps or suicide prevention training for students. Counselling workshops organised by the district mental health program on its campus.
•  Institutional Deficit: The institute responded that there was no proper and professional session like this for the students in the institute. As per the emotional experience and academic stress being felt in the institute.

Read More: Guidelines for Suicide Prevention in Schools, Draft Issued by the Central Government

The Official Contradiction

The district health authorities have vehemently refuted the premier institute’s official claims. They are saying that the institute’s institutional negligence is being covered up by administrative denial.

• The Anti-Drug Defence: The Anti-Drug Defence (CMO) Dr Sukhbir Singh rebutted, saying that on February 24. There was indeed a drive for awareness within the NIT campus. But the records indicate that this program was mainly an anti-drug de-addiction program. And they introduced mental health education only as a secondary agenda.  
• Cancelled Sessions: The CMO also shared that the health department had been intending to organise a mental health session this week. But the management of the NIT cancelled it a day ahead, saying that the NIT was “not prepared” to host it. 
•  Higher Scrutiny: The contradiction has been noticed by the Director of Mental Health, Haryana, Dr Brahmdeep, who has said that a team has been formed at the state level to look into the factual discrepancies in the health department’s logs and the claims made by the university through RTI.

 The student backlashes

 The administrative squabbling has sparked frustration among students that the university is not treating the mental health crisis seriously. 

• Inadequate Measures: The campus closed its doors for a while after the students protested in April and declared preparatory holidays. And the institute empanelled three psychiatrists and established a “Thought-Lab” on the campus for sensitising students.
• Superficial Fixes: Students’ criticisms, and those of council members, of the administration’s defensive strategies are heavy. They emphasise that individual academic professors as mentors or promotion of sports and yoga is no substitute for accessible, professional, clinical psychological intervention.