Mental Health of Students: An Increasing Concern in India’s Higher Education Institutions

The education system of India is now at a crucial and critical point, with 1 in 5 students suffering from some mental health issue. This is nothing short of a pandemic that requires urgent care and attention. While the country has progressed in expanding access to education with more than thirty thousand colleges and over 1000+ universities, a deeper examination of classroom dynamics reveals the persistent flaws that require an urgent reform.

A System Stuck in the Past

Although the world is rapidly advancing in technology and pedagogy, Indian classrooms remain largely unchanged. As traditional lecture-based teaching continues to dominate, there’s a little room left for creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving. With how rigid this approach is, it has become an hindrance in student engagement. It also poses an immense bout of psychological pressure on the young minds, that contribute to anxiety, burnout, and in extreme cases, tragic instances of students committing suicide. The days of giving a monologue by a faculty to disinterestedly bored and inattentive students should have been over years ago.

Mental Health Pandemic in Higher Education

The endless pressure faced by students to excel in competitive exams, the stigma associated with failure, and the absence of structured mental health support collectively create an environment where students struggle in silence. Sadly, whatever efforts are being made to address these issues are reactionary instead of preventative. We tend to respond only once the crises hits the door, rather than implementing proactive strategies to improve students’ emotional resilience and well-being from an early stage.

Breaking Free from Rote Learning: Time to Bring in AI in classrooms.

Over-reliance on rote memorization has become one of the most damaging aspects of our education system. Instead of fostering curiosity and innovation in students, they are trained to memorise and reproduce information without truly understanding the concepts. Along with diminishing student’s ability to apply knowledge in real world scenarios, this practice also suppresses students’ independent thinking. To build a workforce that is ready to face challenges of the twenty-first century, we need to encourage active learning, critical analysis, and experiential education.

The Need for Preventative Measures in Mental Health

As the current model of mental health intervention in universities being largely post-mortem-action that is taken only after visible distress signals emerge, this approach fails to address the root cause of stress amongst students. Academic pressure, social isolation, and unrealistic expectations are the primary causes for distress among students. Universities must integrate mental wellness programmes into their curriculum to provide easy access to counselling services and normalize conversations around mental health. It is the need of the hour to provide on-campus support for strong mental health with well-trained and qualified counsellors.

Student-Centered Ecosystem

Galgotias University has taken significant strides towards implementing active learning to revolutionize education. The university has launched G-Scale (Galgotias student-centered active learning ecosystem) to incorporate interactive teaching techniques, such as Think-Pair Share, Scaffolding, Jigsaw, Simulations, problem-based learning, Case-study techniques, and hands-on projects. By incorporating these methods, students are engaged in a more dynamic and participative learning procedure. It has also pioneered India’s first active learning building, designed to foster collaboration, creativity, and real world problem solving skills. Such initiatives have placed the university at the forefront of modern educational reform, ensuring that students not only acquire knowledge but also develop critical thinking and practical skills that are essential for student’s future careers.

A Shift Toward Student-Centric Learning

In order to truly reform our educational system, we must move towards a student centric model that prioritises engagement, curiosity, and well-being. This can be achieved through the following points:

• Lower Failure Rates: Better Conceptual Understanding, Reduced Failure Rates, Strengthened Social Relationships, and Better Absorption of Knowledge leading to academic excellence for students who have been predicted to not have performed well
• Personalised Education: Using technology to cater to the individual learning experiences of students
• Skill Development: Encouraging practical skill-building over rote memorization to prepare students for real-world challenges
• Industry-Academia Collaboration: To bridge the gap between classroom education and professional realities to enhance employability

A Call for Change

It’s high time and the right time to think about India’s education system. It need to be acknowledged that the traditional methods of teaching and assessment are no longer sufficient in preparing students for the future that is awaiting them. By embracing the progressive educational reforms and cultivating a culture of mental wellness and making learning more meaningful, an education system can be created. Such system would allow students to thrive in all aspects of life. Change begins with a willingness to challenge outdated norms. It is the collective responsibility to ensure that every student in India receives an education that imparts knowledge along with nurturing their mental and emotional well-being. Once these changes are achieved, only then can we truly unlock the potential of our youth and drive India toward a brighter future.

Note: This article is written with inputs from Dr. Dhruv Galgotia, CEO of Galgotias University.