[SriLanka] Sri Lanka plans implementation of anti-ragging bill

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Tuesday, February 20, 2007, 12:56 GMT, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.

Feb 20, Colombo: The Sri Lanka government is considering activating the Anti-Ragging Bill, which was passed in Parliament several years ago.

Minister of Higher Education Prof. Wishwa Warnapala, addressing media after the release of the Z-score cut off marks for university admission, stressed the need for implementing regulations related to the Anti-Ragging Bill. He said ragging in universities has increased to an unacceptable level in the recent past.

The government blamed the interference of political movements on university premises, who use ragging to influence newcomers to join them.

[NewsToday] Public meet on ragging

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NT Bureau
Chennai, Feb 20:

The Committee headed by former director of CBI R K Raghavan will meet and receive suggestions from public on prevention of ragging at Hotel Savera on 22 February.

According to a press release, interested persons can attend and voice their suggestions and comments. The discussion would examine the aspects of ragging. The objective of the Committee is to prevent ragging and also take proper action against those who are indulging in it.

The Committee on ragging was formed by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development on 27 November, 2006.

Those who are unable to attend can forward their suggestions on or before before 26 February to the Director (Higher Education), Room No 522, C-Wing, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Shastri Bhawan, Dr Rajendra Prasad Road, New Delhi.

[Malaysia] Ragging footage given to police

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JITRA: A 19-year-old Kolej TUDM trainee here was allegedly forced to swallow his vomit by his seniors in the third year at the academy as part of a ragging activity.

The trainee, Mohamad Hazim Ahmad Azman, claimed that he was forced to eat food with dried grass in it and drink drain water.

The footage, recorded on a digital camera by Mohamd Hazim's course-mate on Jan 27, showed 15 trainees pouring hot water on his body.

The victim’s father, who saw the recording when his son returned to their home in Taiping for the Chinese New Year holidays, accompanied his son to lodge a police report in Alor Star yesterday.

The case was referred to Jitra police, who now have the recording.

Kubang Pasu OCPD Supt Mohamed Karim Abu said the incident was being investigated.

[IndianExpress] Ragging or Personal Dispute?

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Kanpur

Ragging: A second year student of Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) course, Kitendra Dixit, was admitted to a local nursing home on Monday due to serious injuries sustained during ragging. However, the university authorities and police claimed that it was not ragging but personal dispute between the college students.

As per Kitendra, his senior (of sixth semester), Gaurav Tripathi and his friends thrashed him. Doctors at Navyug Nursing Home also informed that Kitendra’s hand was fractured.

[Telegraph] Crusade to put an end to ragging

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DEEPANKAR GANGULY

Help is at hand for victims of ragging, courtesy an NGO.

The recently-formed state chapter of Coalition to Uproot Ragging from Education (Cure) has planned counselling sessions and treatment facilities to rehabilitate students affected by ragging.

On Wednesday, the NGO will hold an anti-ragging seminar at the AC Hall of the Book Fair. Two ragging victims — Rabindranath Das of Jadavpur University and Samir Swarnakar of Ayurvedic College — will attend the programme.

“We have also decided to publish an information booklet on ragging at the Book Fair. This will be part of our awareness campaign against ragging. The booklet will be distributed free,” said convener of Cure’s state chapter Kushal Banerjee. He is an intern at Sambhunath Pandit Hospital.

Cure was formed in Delhi in July 2001. Its West Bengal chapter was born in March 2006. The NGO has nearly 70 members, most of them students.

The Raghavan committee — set up by the Union human resource development ministry, on orders from the Supreme Court, to suggest ways to prevent ragging — accepted a report prepared by the NGO’s state chapter last year. National coordinator of Cure Harsh Agarwal submitted the report to the panel in New Delhi.

“Members of the Raghavan committee visited the Salt Lake campus of Jadavpur University earlier this month,” stated Banerjee. He defined ragging as traditional and systematic rights abuse, practised by seniors upon freshers in educational institutions.

“In Calcutta, ragging has, of late, entered schools. We have received complaints from parents of Class VI and Class IX students,” added Banerjee.

[DNA] Centre takes students’ view to combat ragging

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Bullies beware. The Centre has taken serious note of ragging incidents across country.

Following the November 2006 Supreme Court directive, the Union HRD ministry has formed a six-member committee to create a report based on suggestions gathered from students and faculty across the country on how to combat incidents of ragging.

Headed by RK Raghavan, former CBI director, the committee visited the SNDT University on Tuesday on a fact-finding mission. The committee feels the need to introduce a national legislation to curb the menace.

“Instead of different laws for different states, the country should have a common anti-ragging law as ragging is an issue of national importance,” Raghavan said. The committee has already visited states such as Assam, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. It will be visiting institutions in New Delhi, Jaipur, Cochin and Chennai in the near future. The committee report will be submitted to the apex court in April.

The committee gathered suggestions from students and principals of various colleges and professional institutions across the state, including IIT-Bombay, HR College, University of Pune and Nanded. Suggestions ranged from building independent hostels for freshmen, giving hostel wardens the authority to punish guilty students and allowing colleges to organise interactions between freshmen and seniors. “During the start of the academic year, seniors should prepare a newsletter for freshmen, informing them about the college’s rules and regulations,” said Madhav Welling, NM College principal. “This process paves way for formal introduction between freshmen and seniors, thereby discouraging ragging.”

While some students seemed apprehensive about expressing their opinions before the committee, others came forward, saying that students should be educated on the existing anti-ragging law by including it in the curriculum and the institution should set up an anti-ragging squad at each institution and penalise students breaking the law.

“Ragging is an harmful activity and should be discouraged,” said Raj Kusbe, a student of HR College. “Students involved in ragging are usually repeat offenders. The anti-ragging squad should act as a vigilant body, discouraging them.”

However, Raghavan added ragging had social fall-out. “It’s only students from influential families who are involved in ragging,” he said. “They try to lord it over those who come from lower-income groups. Also most hostels nowadays are outside the campus, and there is very little supervision. As a result, authorities fail to curb ragging.”

[PIB] PRESS NOTE - RAGHVAN COMMITTE ON RAGGING TO VISIT JAIPUR ON THURSDAY

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12:31 IST

Pursuant to an order of Hon’ble Supreme Court of India dated November 27, 2006, the Ministry of Human Resource Development has constituted a Committee under the Chairmanship of Shri R.K. Raghavan (former Director, CBI) to look into the issue of ragging and suggest means of prevention in educational institutions. The composition of the Committee is as under:

1. Shri R.K. Raghavan Chairman
Former Director, CBI.

2. Prof. Sanjay Govind Dhande Member
Director, IIT, Kanpur

3. Dr. A.K. Agarwal -do-
Dean, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi.

4. Dr Rajendra Prasad -do-
Principal, Ramjas College, New Delhi.

5. Dr. Chandra Krishnamurthy, -do-
Vice-Chancellor, SNDT Women’s University. Mumbai.

6. Prof. S. Sathikh, -do-
Former Vice-Chancellor, Madras University, Chennai.

7. Shri Sunil Kumar Member- Secretary
Joint Secretary, Department of Education

The Committee primarily seeks to examine the following broad aspects of ragging: -
(a) Means and methods of prevention of ragging.
(b) Possible action that can be taken against persons indulging in ragging, and
(c) Possible action that can be taken against college/university authorities in the event of ragging.


The Committee will also examine and consider all aspects relating to the conduct of students indulged in ragging, such as aspects affecting the academic atmosphere in the educational institutions. The Committee proposes to hold public discussions on the above mentioned issues at Jaipur on 15th February, 2007 from 11.00 a.m. onwards in the Senate Hall, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur. All the interested persons may attend and may voice their suggestions and comments. Such persons are also requested to give their representations in writing.

In addition, the Committee hereby also invites suggestions from members of the public in respect of the above mentioned issues. All persons interested in this exercise may please provide their suggestions in a typed format not later than February 23, 2007 at postal address: Director (Higher Education), Room No. 522, C-wing, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Shastri Bhavan, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Road, New Delhi. All suggestions and comments can also be E-mailed at anupamab@nic.in or ragging.edu@nic.in.


Department of Higher Education, Ministry of HRD
New Delhi; Magh,23,1928;February,12,2007

HB/RP