Sunday, March 18, 2007

[IE] Experts devise ways to check ragging



Lucknow, March 15: Representatives of several engineering and medical universities and other higher educational centres discussed ways of curbing the ragging menace in a meeting conducted here at the Yojna Bhawan on Thursday.

Representatives of medical education, department of UP suggested that a senior professor of the college should be designated as the chief proctor of the college, who shall be responsible for preventing ragging. He should be assisted by senior faculty members, wardens and security guards.

Echoing similar views, other officials also said every educational institution should ensure constitution of anti-ragging cell and members of this cell should take rounds of the hostels and residences of the students. If possible, they said, newcomers should be allotted a separate hostel. Experts observed that if a senior student is found ragging a junior students for the first time, he may be fined upto Rs 5,000. If a person is found to be a habitual offender, then his admission may be terminated and FIR filed against him for breach of peace. “If an institution is found encouraging ragging or not taking proper steps to prevent it, disciplinary action should be taken against it.’’ —ENS

[IE] For freshers, LU campus is ‘unsafe, insecure’


Over 80 pc students are ragged in hostels, 70 pc find LU unsafe Over 80 pc students are ragged in hostels, 70 pc find LU unsafe due to ragging and abusive behaviour of seniors: Survey

Express News Service

Lucknow, March 15: The Lucknow University authorities had thought they had restored the educational atmosphere by launching a crusade against criminals and self-professed student leaders. After a survey by its social work department, it has realised that they were not right. They are yet to free the campus of another menace, ragging, they learnt today.

In a survey conducted by LU’s social work department to curb ragging on the campus, over 80 per cent students were found to have been ragged in their hostels. Around 70 per cent students have even termed LU as “unsafe and insecure”, owing to ragging and “abusing behaviour” meted out to them by their seniors, says the survey, which talked to a total of 100 students from arts, commerce and science streams. “It’s just shocking... We thought it was all fine in our hostels,” said LU proctor Dr AN Singh, who coordinated the survey.

The findings of the survey were presented before a seven-member team, constituted by the HRD ministry, on Thursday. The team, headed by former CBI director (Chennai) R K Raghvan, was in the city to hold a discussion with higher education authorities on devising ways to curb the ragging menace.

Significantly, the survey also pointed out that around 93 per cent students want that during initial period of an academic session, when ragging is normally reported, LU should frame special guidelines for striking a rapport between the seniors and the juniors. “It’s true, usually ragging cases are reported when a new academic session starts. Considering this fact, students have asked us to frame guidelines to counter the ragging menace,” said the proctor.

After the findings of the survey, the LU authorities are now busy framing strict guidelines to stop ragging in the varsity and its hostels. For this, LU has asked students welfare officials to come up with powerful measures.

Ban ragging completely



Bhopal Today Team

Bhopal, Mar 15: The issue of ragging shot up again after Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT) expelled 8 students, accused of ragging their juniors. Though almost everyone criticises it; still the cruel practice exists in the campuses of educational institutes. Bhopal Today talked to the students and teachers to know their views about this ugly practice.

Pravlin Singh, junior student: Thrashing and slapping juniors in the name of ragging is completely wrong. Actually the tradition of introduction badly turned out to be ragging and the reason behind is lack of proper introduction between the juniors and the seniors that leads to such circumstances. We should try to create an atmosphere in the campus, which does not have junior-senior demarcation and both behave like friends and colleagues.

Sumit Irani, junior student: Our seniors' behaviour should be upright so we can hold them as our ideals. The seniors should help the juniors and make them feel comfortable in the campus. Thrashing is totally wrong.

Gaurav, junior student: I do not know much about that incident but it was not good. Instead of physical and mental torture of juniors friendly atmosphere should be created in campus. If a little bit of fun is there during introduction then there is nothing wrong in it.

Ravinder Tanwar, M Tech student: In a healthy atmosphere this is not a bad thing. It removes hesitation and childishness of the juniors. They become bold and broadminded. By ragging, the seniors want to introduce the juniors with realities of the life.

Agnivesh, M Tech student: That was not a case of ragging. It was a simply a meeting to plan fresher party. The seniors know it very well that if they were caught ragging then it would affect their career. Physical torture in the name of ragging is wrong and I am against it.

Dr OP Jain, Principal MVM College: Ragging is a distorted form of a healthy custom and it cannot be termed right. We can take it as a psychological problem. What happened yesterday was shameful.

HS Raza, Professor Chemistry: Introduction can be at zero percent tolerance level but to torture in the name of ragging cannot never be justified.

Dr Shirish Joshi, Professor Physics: Ragging is a crime in the eyes of the Government and the Supreme Court. It should be banned completely. There is need to give the seniors a proper direction and they should made to understand that juniors are like their younger brothers. Expulsion is not the correct thing to do, as it would destroy their careers.

Friday, March 16, 2007

[ToI] 'Anti-ragging panel could be set up in every college'



PATNA: The concerns over ragging in Bihar are very much the same as in other states. It is an evil that needs to be controlled, said R K Raghavan, head of the panel constituted to look into the issue of ragging in educational institutions.

The Raghavan committee, formed on the order of Supreme Court, was here on Wednesday to "gather views". "An anti-ragging committee could be set up in every college with students also being represented it," said Raghavan, a former CBI director.

A public hearing was organised by the committee at the L N Mishra Institute of Economic Development and Social Change here. Later, Raghavan told newsmen the committee at this point does not have any solutions to offer.

"We are visiting different states to gather public opinion. We are getting many suggestions which we will then incorporate into a report that will be submitted to the Supreme Court in the first week of April this year," he said.

He said everybody recognises the problem and feels something needs to be done.

Speaking about some of the suggestions the committee received from students unions on Wednesday; Raghavan said one such suggestion is initiation of interaction between freshers and seniors at the earliest so that they get to know each other better.

He said several experiments had been done by some education institutions to put an end to the menace of ragging.

Delhi University's Ramjas College principal Dr Rajendra Prasad, also a committee member, said his college, too, had toyed with new measures to curb ragging. Ramjas College shot into news in the early nineties when a fresher girl was ragged and forced to strip by her seniors.

Prasad said, "At the beginning of the new session two of our teachers become resident wardens and stay inside the college round-the-clock. They interact with students all the time. Besides, we have set up a girls' hostel within the premises. Earlier, the hostel was only for boys. This has brought down ragging drastically."

Other members of the committee are IIT, Kanpur, director Professor Sanjay Govind Dhande, dean of Maulana Azad Medical College Dr A K Agarwal, vice chancellor of SNDT Women's University (Mumbai) Dr Chandra Krishnamurthy, former vice-chancellor of Madras University Professor S Sathikh. Human Resource Development ministry joint secretary Sunil Kumar is member-secretary.

[NewIndPress] Ragging: Protection to family



Thursday March 15 2007 10:14 IST

KOTTAYAM: Police protection has been accorded to the house of the SME ragging case victim girl at Ilamkad, near Mundakkayam, from Thursday.

SP S Sreejith has ordered police protection, following telephonic threats received by the father of the girl.

Gopi, the girl’s father approached the SP on Wednesday with a memorandum, after anonymous callers threatened to finish off the family, before the commencement of the trial in the case. Three cops have been posted at the house of the girl, the SP said.