‘Career Confusion Leads To Depression Among Students’

Bhubaneswar: Faculty members in technical institutions have a huge responsibility in counselling students as many of them remain confused about their careers which often lead to depression, Prof. Damodar Acharya, Chairman of the Advisory Board of the SOA (Deemed to be University), said on Saturday.

Prof. Acharya was speaking at the inaugural function of Faculty Development Programme (FDP) organized by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) at the Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER), SOA’s faculty of engineering, here.

Prof. Acharya, former Chairman of AICTE and former Director of IIT-Kharagpur, said that parents are keen to get their children enrolled in technical institutions without knowing why they want them to become engineers.

“The students are also confused about their career objectives and around 4,000 to 5,000 students go into depression,” he said, adding that they need active help of the faculty members to clear this confusion.

Around 100 faculty members from various technical institutions, which are affiliated to AICTE, in Odisha are attending the programme.

AICTE member Dilip Debnath, who also addressed the gathering, said the FDP was initiated in 2011 with the objective to ensure discipline among students and help them to focus on their careers.

Dean (Research) of SOA Prof. P K Nanda also spoke on the occasion.