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Kanpur, Jun 10: With incidents of suicides by students at the institute on the rise, IIT-Kanpur authorities are planning to hold detailed mental examination of candidates, in addition to the routine physical tests, from this year. The examination will be conducted after the counselling session.

Students would be given appropriate counselling as well as medicines if needed, and their parents would be kept informed. No candidate will be denied admission on these grounds, however.

The counselling session for the 527 candidates selected for the Kanpur Zone through the IIT-JEE examination is to begin on June 17. Once the candidates are finalised, physical and mental examinations will follow.

In the past two months, two students have committed suicide at IIT-Kanpur, while the number is up to six since November 2005.

All preparations to conduct the medical examinations have been completed, with the institute administration shortlisting a panel of four medical specialists, including two outside doctors.

If it is felt that a candidate needs counselling, his/her parents will be informed and medical treatment advised.

Deputy Director Kripa Shanker told The Indian Express: "We are busy making the final preparations. The proposal has been finalised and a team of doctors constituted." He noted that all students admitted to IITs are brilliant and under a lot of pressure to perform well.

The Dean of Student Affairs, Prawal Sinha, said a psychiatrist who would be the member of the panel would decide the pattern of the test.