Deterioration of mental health in premier institutes

Abstract

India is witnessing a growing mental health crisis. Part of this could be attributed to its status as the most populous country globally, coupled with a critical mass of the population living below the poverty line. With limited resources and an ailing public infrastructure, it marginalizes certain societal sections and creates pressures on their younger generations to end the cycle of exclusion. The interplay of all these factors helps create a socio-cultural phenomenon in which education is seen as a conduit towards upward social mobility and a higher standard of living. Several story-sites exist in this country, where students flock to chase this dream. We explore the lived experiences and stories of students of Kota, IIT Bombay and IIM Ahmedabad. This research is an exploratory attempt to illuminate the manifold mental health tribulations that beset students within prestigious academic institutions, as well as those undergoing rigorous preparations for admission into such institutions. We attempt to unravel the perspectives of a diverse array of stakeholders with respect to the matter at hand, such as parents, faculty members, counsellors, and alumni. Our ontological privilege lies in the fact that we are students at just such a prestigious institution of the country, and have been through the rigour required to get an admission. Our unique situatedness allows us to employ certain methods which would otherwise not be available to outside researchers. In this study, we unravel aspects of shame, stigma, self-negation, disbelief, denial, and marginalization that students face in these institutions owing to financial, social, and institute-specific stressors and impingers. Concurrently, we attempt to explore the chasms of the educational, administrative, and mental healthcare systems, which regrettably fall short in addressing student concerns adequately.