[Yahoo] AASU sets up cells to check ragging in colleges

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By IE
Thursday July 19, 05:07 AM

With the beginning of the new academic session in colleges, the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) has set up a cell in every district to check incidents of ragging.

The Union has also appealed to the college authorities to take punitive steps against those found indulging in cases of ragging. "The AASU is in favour of a good academic atmosphere on college campuses. Ragging definitely is an outdated concept," AASU General Secretary Tapan Kumar Gogoi said.

The AASU has written to Principals of all the colleges across the state saying that the student body was with them in taking any kind of disciplinary action against students found guilty of indulging in ragging. "The menace of ragging has assumed such dangerous proportions that even the Supreme Court has been compelled to intervene. Victims of ragging can now approach the anti-ragging cells, which in turn will take up the matter with the college authorities," Gogoi said.

Cotton College, the oldest college of the Northeast, has come up with a "code of conduct" for its students which is effective from the new academic year. The 107-year-old college situated in the heart of the Assam capital has put a blanket ban on ragging. "It is difficult to stop ragging completely, but it is possible," said Indra Kumar Bhattacharyya, Principal of the college. He said the "code of conduct" notice has five main points, including ban on ragging.

The five-point "code of conduct" has also put a ban on use of mobile phones on the Cotton College campus. "We don't mind students carrying mobile phones. It is no doubt a must in this age. But students have been debarred from using mobiles inside the classroom or in the corridors," the Principal said.

Apart from ragging and use of mobile phones, Cotton College has also issued a "general dress code" for students. Girls are to wear "decent" clothes that do not expose their body, while boys students have been asked to wear formal light-coloured shirts and trousers.