IIT Kharagpur: Campus Mothers to Complement, Not Replace Professionals, Says Director

Quick Summary

• IIT Kharagpur (IIT KGP) Director Dr. Suman Chakraborty announced a new mental health framework called SETU (Support, Empathy, Transformation, and Upliftment) on july 14, 2025.
• SETU includes five pillars: upgraded counselling services, AI-driven welfare app, campus wellness groups, hostel welfare units, and student engagement projects.
• The “campus mothers” initiative involves female volunteers offering informal emotional support to students with guidance from professional psychologists; it is part of the broader SETU framework.
• The programme aims to prevent suicides and unnatural deaths that have plagued the campus in recent years; three students have died this year alone.
• Current counsellor staff includes approximately 15 professionals on-campus; external experts will be visiting for consultations on July 21. Upgrades include 24/7 online counselling and stress management sessions among other resources.
• Allegations from mental health professionals accused the “campus mothers” initiative of gender bias; Dr Chakraborty clarified it is meant as a gender-balancing effort alongside training for ethical interactions by volunteers.
• A separate multi-pronged campus security plan is being developed to address issues like substance abuse and crimes against women while ensuring fairness in implementation procedures.

Indian Opinion Analysis
the announcement of IIT Kharagpur’s SETU framework represents a significant shift toward holistic approaches in student welfare within large academic institutions struggling with alarming rates of suicides and mental health crises.By decentralizing support structures across academic spaces like hostels and gymkhanas while integrating technological tools such as an AI-driven welfare app into daily operations,the institution appears proactive in managing systemic challenges posed by its vast student population.

However, specific elements-such as the “campus mothers” initiative-have sparked critiques regarding ethical appropriateness and potential gendered undertones from external observers within mental health circles. While Dr Chakraborty’s description positions this element as supplementary rather than substitutive therapy aiming at inclusivity within male-centric spaces already prevalent among committees/programmes-a careful rollout would be essential for broad acceptance.

In addition to upgrading psychological services under war footing timelines before incoming batches arrive post-July launch assuredly provides realistic deadlines helps reputation better-prepared readiness mechanisms shared amongst stakeholders Meanwhile newly announced hyper-granulated vigilance incorporating peers hearing tracking behavioral flags reiterated exciting nuances efficiently imbibe hierarchical overtures existing trusted circle Additionally emerging Campus Security Plans outlines similar balanced integrating Safety Beyond Status Quo symmetric intersection benefits both categories societal tech infrastructures minimizing challenges江西