Form task force to handle students' mental health: Minister tells IITs

Union Minister of Human Resource Development Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' on Wednesday instructed the IITs that mental health related challenges faced by students during the lockdown period should be addressed by all institutes.

He directed the institutes to establish a helpline.

"There should be a task force set up by every institute which should include psychologists to handle mental health issues," Nishank told IITs.

Nishank chaired a meeting with all the Directors of 23 Indian Institutes of Technology through video conferencing in New Delhi where he directed all the Institutes to take care of the students, faculty and their family members and the contractual staff on the campus and ensure they do not face any problem.

The minister also directed the IITs that salaries to adhoc, contractual and daily wagers should be paid in full up to April 30.

He also emphasised that the institutes should ensure that they should conduct active research work in the area of COVID19.

"The research work which is already being done should be given wider publicity in the social media and other mediums," Nishank said.

The IITs also informed that they had major achievements in the field of research, especially those to fight the COVID-19 by way of protective gears like masks, low-cost ventilators, sanitizer and testing kits.

The minister also directed that academic calendar of the institutes may be prepared so that students should not lose summer and winter internships. IANS