CUSAT forms panel to address grievances in the wake of student deaths

Kochi: Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) decided to constitute a committee to address student grievances and recommend measures to prevent untoward incidents, including student suicides on campus. The decision was taken at a meeting convened by vice-chancellor Junaid Bushiri at the university's senate hall on Tuesday, following two recent student deaths.According to a university official, the proposed committee will be convened by P K Baby, director of student welfare. Members will include the university chief warden, dean and faculty of environment studies, student union chairperson, principals of School of Engineering (SoE) and Cochin University College of Engineering Kuttanad (CUCEK), SoE PTA president, a representative from health department, university student counsellor and local ward members of the municipality. The meeting, which began at 2.15pm and concluded around 4pm, focused on identifying measures to prevent such incidents in the future. "The meeting discussed what the university should do to avoid such untoward incidents from recurring," an official said. The university also plans to increase the number of student counsellors on campus, hold PTA meetings every two months, strengthen mentor-mentee and parent-student relationships, and introduce counselling and orientation programmes for first-year students. In addition, the panel will examine whether the current internal examination system is contributing to student stress and affecting mental health. Discussions also highlighted the need to improve student-teacher relationships at the School of Engineering, where both recent incidents were reported. The move comes after the deaths of Darshana K S, a native of Puthuvype and a third-year civil engineering student, and Dhanush D, a third-year electrical and electronics engineering student, who were found hanging in separate incidents over the past few weeks. The meeting was chaired by the university vice-chancellor, where various stakeholders, including the university registrar, attended.