IIT-Bombay Wants ‘Student Mentors’ To Help If A Junior Is Caught Copying: Who Are They?

News explainers IIT-Bombay Wants ‘Student Mentors’ To Help If A Junior Is Caught Copying: Who Are They?

Last Updated:September 25, 2026, 17:01 IST

IIT-Bombay student Sahil Wakode's death by suicide: Who are student mentors at IIT-B? What is their role? What are the proposed changes?

The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, as part of its overhaul amid the row over the death by suicide of student Sahil Wakode, has proposed that if a student is caught copying, they should be given the opportunity to speak with their student mentor immediately.

Who are student mentors at IIT-B? What is their role? What are the proposed changes?

WHO ARE STUDENT MENTORS AT IIT-BOMBAY?

Student mentors at IIT Bombay are selected senior undergraduate and postgraduate students who form the backbone of the institute’s peer-support ecosystem. Primarily operating under the Institute Student Mentorship Program (ISMP) and the Institute Postgraduate Mentorship Program (IPMP), these mentors act as a bridge between the student community, the faculty, and the administration.

Student mentors are not arbitrary volunteers; they undergo a competitive selection process based on:

• A strong academic record, usually requiring a high Cumulative Performance Index (CPI).
• Empathy, communication ability, leadership qualities, and emotional intelligence.
• A history of responsible behavior on campus.
• The cohort includes students from different departments, states, and socio-economic backgrounds to ensure relatable guidance for freshers.

WHAT IS THEIR ROLE?

The primary objective of a student mentor is to ensure that incoming students (freshers) transition smoothly into the highly competitive and rigorous IIT environment. Their role spans several crucial areas:

1. Academic Guidance: Helping freshers understand the curriculum, pick electives, and navigate complex registration processes. Sharing effective study habits, time management strategies, and preparation tips for quizzes and mid-semester exams. Identifying junior students who are struggling academically and directing them to peer tutoring or remedial classes.

2. Emotional and Social Support: Acting as an immediate, friendly point of contact for students moving away from home for the first time. Organizing informal interactions and hostel-level meetups to build a sense of community and prevent students from feeling isolated. Serving as an early-warning system. While mentors are not professional counselors, they are trained to spot signs of extreme stress, anxiety, or depression and gently guide students to the Student Wellness Centre (SWC).

3. Campus Integration: Informing students about campus facilities, tech teams, cultural clubs, sports facilities, and scholarship opportunities. Voicing general student grievances (such as hostel issues or academic stress) to the department coordinators or the Dean of Student Affairs.

IIT-BOMBAY’s PROPOSED OVERHAUL

The proposed overhaul alters the protocol for handling alleged academic misconduct in the following ways.

Under the new proposal, if a student is caught copying or engaging in exam malpractice, they will be given the opportunity to speak with their student mentor immediately before appearing before any disciplinary committee or facing formal administrative interrogation.

The mentor’s primary role is to serve as an empathetic buffer. They will provide peer counseling to reassure the student that an academic setback is not the end of their IIT journey, sharing examples of others who faced similar situations and successfully bounced back. This is intended to mitigate acute panic, isolation, and anxiety.

As part of the students’ demands accepted by the administration, student mentors or designated peer “buddies" will have a mandatory presence in Disciplinary Action Committee (DAC) proceedings to ensure the accused student is not left isolated or intimidated during investigations.

The mid-semester exams scheduled for September 2026 were deferred to October 2026 to allow this newly formed committee time to draft a student-friendly Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for invigilators. This ensures faculty handle suspected cheating incidents uniformly, transparently, and with strict respect for the student’s personal dignity.

Rather than catching students off-guard, the proposed changes mandate printing the exact academic malpractice rules and their consequences clearly on the first page of the answer sheets. This serves as both an upfront deterrent and a transparent disclosure of the exact penalties (e.g., specific grade reductions or temporary suspensions) associated with misconduct.

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Manjiri Joshi

At the news desk for 20 years, the story of her life has revolved around finding pun, facts while reporting, on radio, heading a daily newspaper desk, teaching mass media students to now editing speci...Read More

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