New IIT Bombay rule: No student will stay alone in a hostel room anymore..

IIT Bombay Student Safety Measures: A deeply tragic incident at the IIT Bombay campus has shaken the nation's academic community. Following the suicide of 20-year-old B.Tech student Sahil Wakode, serious questions have arisen regarding student mental health and safety within the institute. In the wake of this unfortunate event, the IIT Bombay administration has swung into action, preparing to implement significant and far-reaching measures to address student concerns.

An open house event facilitated an open dialogue between the administration and the students. During this meeting, various proposals aimed at alleviating mental stress and fostering a better environment for students were discussed. The administration intends to move beyond mere rhetoric and is working rapidly to bring about tangible changes on the ground to improve the campus atmosphere. Here is a look at the new changes IIT Bombay is set to implement.

**Overhauling IIT Bombay's Hostel Culture**
Major changes to IIT Bombay's hostel regulations are on the cards. Previously, only first-year students were assigned shared rooms, while those in senior years were allotted single rooms. This policy is now set to change; the institute is considering a twin-sharing model—where two students share a room—for future hostels.

IIT Bombay is now considering extending this model to senior students as well. Experts believe that living alone can often lead students to suffer from depression or loneliness. Having a roommate provides emotional support, allowing students to share their feelings with one another.

**Increased Counseling Hours and Institute-Funded External Support**
Prioritizing student mental health, IIT Bombay has significantly expanded the scope of its counseling services. Immediately following the incident, the Dean of Student Affairs informed students via email that counseling hours had been extended at six major campus hostels and the Student Wellness Center, ensuring that students could access immediate assistance whenever needed.

Furthermore, reiterating its existing policy, IIT Bombay assured students that they could seek help from professional counselors or agencies of their choice outside the campus. The institute will bear the entire cost of such external counseling services. Students are being strongly encouraged to avail themselves of these facilities through their faculty mentors.

**Seeking Advice from Faculty and Experts**
To address this situation, the administration is not acting in isolation; it is also enlisting the help of faculty members and mental health experts to understand the ground reality. Recently, the administration circulated a Google Form seeking suggestions from professors and faculty members on better measures to alleviate student stress. Several rounds of meetings have already taken place at both the department and institute levels.

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