– Female campus residents-staff or family members-can volunteer as “campus mothers” to provide emotional support to students.
– Volunteers will undergo orientation by trained psychologists and receive token honorariums.
– This initiative seeks to address stigma around directly approaching mental health professionals.
– The programme aims to commence operations by June 22 when new students join the campus.
– mental health professionals raised concerns about limiting volunteers’ roles based on gender, questioning ethics regarding confidentiality and judgmental biases.
– Suggestions included broadening involvement beyond women to include male volunteers, retired staff, and senior citizens alongside stricter screening processes and accountability measures.
The HEART initiative signals IIT Kharagpur’s recognition of growing mental health needs among students. Combining technology with human touch aligns well with addressing both scale demands through AI analytics and personalization via peer-based community support. However, potential challenges regarding ethical practices cannot be overlooked. Concerns about gender exclusivity risk reinforcing stereotypes around caregiving roles traditionally associated with women while alienating other groups who could contribute significantly. Similarly, improper training of volunteers may inadvertently exacerbate stigmas or breaches in confidentiality rather than resolving them.
For meaningful impact on student wellness amid India’s rising concerns over youth suicides linked to academic pressures, institutions must ensure multi-layered interventions that combine professional expertise with grassroots-level empathy without compromising safety standards or inclusiveness.