Chennai: Set up student counselling centres, varsity directs colleges

CHENNAI: In the wake of recent suicides of students, Anna University has directed all affiliated engineering colleges to set up student counselling centres with a trained psychologist in their campuses.

“The colleges need to identify students with problems and have to help them with voluntary counselling. They also need to record counselling procedures and monitor students for considerable time,” said A.Elayaperumal, director, Centre for Student Affairs, Anna University.

“Around 600 engineering colleges are affiliated to Anna University and more than 10 lakh students are studying in these colleges. Only a very few students are taking the extreme step due to various reasons like personal, family pressure and inability to cope up with studies,” he said.

Engineering colleges also were asked to send monthly reports to Anna University. The reports should include details like number of students counselled and their progress after the session.

“Almost all engineering colleges in the State have positively responded to the university about establishing these counselling centres,” he added.

P.Ravichandran, principal, St Joseph Institute of Technology, said, “We are already having the counselling system in our college. With this new direction, Anna University has made it mandatory to have a psychologist in student counselling centres.

We will give the counselling to needy students and send the report to Anna University.” P.K. Nagaraj, Principal, SA engineering college, here said,

“Engineering colleges in urban areas are already equipped with student counselling system. Faculty members appointed as counsellors will monitor the students regularly and if any student is not attending the classes or getting low marks, he or she will be given special attention.”

“This new direction from the university will make the new and rural engineering colleges to establish counselling centres on their campuses,” he said.