[Hindu] No relief from ragging

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Charging that there has been “no respite” from ragging in educational institutions across the country despite the Supreme Court directing them to put down the menace with an iron hand, a non-profit organisation, “Coalition to Uproot Ragging from Education” (CURE), has said that as many as 52 cases of ragging have been reported in the media since this past May.

CURE has made a list of these cases from the online archives of the country’s leading newspapers.

“Our research has revealed that 52 cases of ragging have been reported in the online editions of the national English media since May 21, 2007. Contrast this with only 15 cases in the same period last year that indicates that reporting levels have remarkably improved. However, from the severity of the situation, it is also clear that the recommendations of the Raghavan Committee have been unable to act as any deterrent to prevent senior students from breaking the law,” said Harsh Agarwal, a CURE coordinator.

“A preliminary analysis of the cases reveals six suicides, three attempted suicides, 17 cases of reported physical abuse and several other cases involving sexual, verbal and drug abuse. It is clear that the Supreme Court interim judgement has not been implemented in letter and in spirit by the law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders,” he said.

CURE has observed that despite the Supreme Court emphasising the need for educating society and spreading awareness on this issue, not much seems to have been done at the national level.

“We maintain that ragging cannot be combated by deterrence alone. The psycho-social aspects of ragging need to be understood thoroughly and this menace needs to be tackled through a three-pronged approach involving education and awareness, providing alternate means of interaction along with strict implementation of deterring laws,” asserted Harsh Agarwal.

Indira Gandhi National Open University has launched an International Ph.D. programme that is available in various disciplines.

The prospectus will be available on www.ignou.ac.in. The applications will be received at the International Division at IGNOU. There will be two sessions for the Ph.D. programme every year -- in January and July.

Jagannath International Management School (JIMS), Vasant Kunj, has launched a unique weekly interactive programme for policemen who are being given communication lessons. The programme is aimed at understanding their problems and placing them in the company of local residents for a dialogue.

The six-week programme was launched recently with policemen drawn from the Vasant Kunj and Delhi Cantonment police stations.

The Institute has also adopted a nearby village, Masoodpur, as its “media laboratory” to assess the impact of communication on the development of an urban village.

The MBA students at the Faculty of Management Studies at Delhi University conducted an online services conclave titled “ClickIT- The World at your Click” last week.

The conclave was organised by “Synopsys” -- the systems, operations and consulting society at FMS -- and aimed at recognising the emergence of the online services industry. The speakers were leaders from the industry who addressed various functional aspects of such services like change in business models, content protection issues, and interaction between suppliers and end users.

Parul Sharma