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New Delhi: The Ministry of Education has constituted a three-member committee to examine the circumstances surrounding the death of a student at the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Ranchi, and assess the functioning of student support systems at the institute.
The committee will be headed by Prof. Rajni Abbi, Director of the South Campus of the University of Delhi, and will include a senior psychiatrist and a senior officer from the Ministry of Education as members.
According to the Ministry, the panel has been constituted to conduct a detailed examination of the incident and review the implementation of relevant guidelines at the institute. The inquiry will focus on the availability and functioning of basic facilities, institutional support systems, counselling and mentoring arrangements, and student grievance redressal mechanisms.
The committee has also been tasked with identifying systemic gaps and recommending appropriate measures to strengthen student welfare and help prevent the recurrence of such incidents.
As part of its examination, the panel will interact with relevant stakeholders and review records and documents as required to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and assess the institute’s existing arrangements for student support.
The Ministry’s intervention comes amid renewed attention to student well-being and the responsibility of higher educational institutions to provide adequate support systems for students. Counselling services, mentoring arrangements and accessible grievance redressal mechanisms are among the areas that the committee will examine as part of its mandate.
The Ministry has also stated that it is undertaking suitable interim administrative arrangements to ensure the smooth and effective functioning of IIIT Ranchi, keeping the interests and well-being of students in view.
IIIT Ranchi is a public-private partnership institution established under the PPP mode. The institute’s administrative and student support arrangements will form part of the broader examination being undertaken by the committee.
The panel’s findings and recommendations are expected to help the Ministry assess whether existing institutional mechanisms are adequate and identify measures that may be required to improve student welfare and campus support systems.
The Ministry has not specified a timeline for the committee to submit its report. Further action is expected to be considered in light of the committee’s assessment and recommendations.