[DeccanHerald] Crack down on ragging: UGC

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DH News Service, New Delhi:

Here is good news for first year students especially those who are scared to enter the campuses for fear of being ragged. Various regulatory bodies have issued instructions to colleges to take stern action against ragging.

If institutions have failed to end the menace on their campuses, they may have to lose their affiliation.

With the new academic year all set to start soon, regulatory bodies such as University Grants Commission (UGC) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) warned the institutions to cancel their approval, if the ragging incidents reported on the campuses.

While the UGC has issued a circular to all universities to instruct the colleges to strictly follow the measures suggested by the Raghavan panel, the AICTE has issued advertisements in newspapers in this regard. The AICTE has asked students, parents and public to report to it instances of ragging in any form in institutions imparting technical education.

UGC reminded registrars of all universities that they and the colleges should mention in their prospectus or brochures about the total number of ragging incidents that had taken place in their institutions each year.

Strict measures
Following a directive from the HRD Ministry, the UGC asked the institutions to erect suitable hoardings, bill boards or banners at prominent places within the campus asking students to prevent or not to indulge in ragging.

The institutions were asked to indicate names of officials and their telephone numbers to be contacted in case of ragging. A committee headed by the former CBI director Raghavan set up by the Supreme Court to monitor the measures being taken to prevent ragging in higher educational institutions has suggested ‘zero tolerance’ towards ragging.

The committee had asked the statutory regulatory bodies to direct educational institutions to incorporate in admission notices appropriate messages in this regard. The panel also suggested that incentives be given by way of higher grants to institutions that ensured ragging in any form not taking place on their campuses.

The Supreme Court had six months back directed universities and colleges to mention in their admission prospectus that students found indulged in ragging would be expelled from the institution.

It said the guidelines for ensuring ban of ragging in universities/colleges, will also apply to colleges under the Medical Council of India (MCI), Dental Council of India, polytechnics and those institutes under the Ministry of Agriculture.