In order to reduce pressure from students, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has decided to rework on its first-year syllabus. The new curriculum which will be effective from next year will focus more on the practical aspect of the education rather than concentrating on theories.
The decision has come after a meeting chaired by Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar last week. IIT council, which is a coordination body of 23 IITs, in the meeting decided to include non-academic induction programmes for the freshers and will also come up with the wellness centres for the purpose of their mental health.
According to The Indian Express, the director of IIT-Delhi V Ramagopal Rao on the decision said, “We are looking at modifying the first-year curriculum to help students cope with stress. We’re trying to introduce a more hands-on module and understand from students’ point of view what they will find interesting after hectic JEE preparations”.
Rao said that the focus is on changing the curriculum of the first year is because the academic performance of the students in the first year has an impact on the following year. However, stressing on the need to change syllabus in other years also, Rao said, “overall all courses need to become more hands-on with time”.
Earlier, to help students in distress, the premier engineering institute also taking steps to help the students such as providing counselling to the students so that they cope with stress and holding the parents-teachers meeting. The move has come after an increase in the number of suicides and attempt to suicide cases in IITs.
