DU students seek better mental health support

Students across various colleges of Delhi University (DU) have raised concerns about the lack of mental health counselling on their campuses. Despite growing awareness about the importance of mental well-being, many students feel that institutional support remains inconsistent and insufficient.

Students shared their concerns with The Tribune, days after Sneha Debnath, a first year student of DU, allegedly died by suicide.

Gurjeet Singh, a second year student at the Faculty of Law, shared, “I’ve been here for two years and haven’t heard of any counseling sessions. I don’t think there are any facilities related to counselling in the Faculty of Law. Only one seminar on mental health was conducted, which was not a counselling session. We are not aware of any such faculties present here. We handle stress by talking it with our faculties, family and friends.”

He added that the absence of counselling is felt most during the examinations. “It is very difficult to handle the stress of examinations, placements, and other things. We support each other as much as we can, but a counsellor can always handle these situations better and provide appropriate suggestions. Our professors help us, but they advise us based on their life experiences not as professionals. Many students migrate from different parts of the country for better facilities and education. They face several issues and don’t have close ones around. In such situations, I prefer to share my feelings with friends and try to find solutions,” Singh lamented.

Sharing his experience, a third year BCom student, Abhishek Yadav from ARSD College, said though counselling sessions are being conducted by various departments, there is no particular department or faculty for counselling.

Ritu, a 2023 graduate from Acharya Narendra Dev College, shared that there were no stress on mental health when she was in the college. “We tried to share these issues with our faculty, but the discussions were limited to syllabus, results, and placements. I think even now counselors are not available in every college, and if they are, they don’t pay enough attention to students’ problems. I’ve been here for two years and haven’t heard of any counseling sessions. Students from different regions face language barriers and form isolated groups for comfort and discussions,” she said.

Monika Singh from Kirori Mal College shared a troubling experience where a counsellor publicly disclosed her identity during an event. and didn’t provide any proper solution. “Students also face placement issues because DU doesn’t provide enough or better opportunities. Many students join societies just to distract themselves from their problems,” she said.

Kopal from Vivekananda College added that though there was a counselling department in the college, the counsellor was mostly unavailable. “The counsellor was only present for a few hours. They didn’t provide any proper solutions for the problems. Colleges should appoint both male and female counsellors, students need someone they feel safe talking to, especially girls” she said.

Delhi