The Hindu : Kerala News : Tackling ragging with an iron hand Law & order

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Monday, Jul 23, 2007
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Tackling ragging with an iron hand Law & order

Heads of professional colleges in Kozhikode are initiating stringent measures to check ragging on the campus, writes
Biju Govind.

Educational institutions, particularly professional colleges, have geared up to tackle the menace of ragging on the campuses.

“An anti-ragging committee comprising senior teachers has already been formed. This time we are going to be extra vigilant in view of the directives of the Supreme Court,” said Ginjala Ramachandra Reddy, Director of the National Institute of Technology-Calicut (NIT-C).

The Orientation Day at the NIT-C will be held on July 23 and regular classes will commence from July 24. Batches of 10 teachers will be keeping surveillance on the activities of senior students as well visiting the hostels of new comers.

The NIT-C has 10 hostels, including separate ones for boys and girls, Dr. Reddy said. A code of conduct for students has already been issued. A fresher’s day will be conducted after monitoring the situation, he said.

The Supreme Court had directed educational institutions to register cases against students who indulge in ragging. The apex court said “the punishment had to be exemplary and justifiably harsh to act as a deterrent against recurrence of such incidents.”

The court had also asked all institution to appoint an anti-ragging committee or squad to maintain vigil and undertake patrolling. The squad should carry out surprise raids on hostels and inspect places of potential ragging. Taking action against ragging should be a collective responsibility of the teaching faculty and non-teaching employees, it said.

Professional colleges usually have been taking preventive steps following the enactment of the Kerala Prohibition of Ragging Act, 1998,. playing practical jokes, verbal and physical abuses and causing injury were brought under its preview.

Delinquent students indulging in ragging directly or indirectly or abetting within or outside the colleges are liable to be imprisoned for up to two years with a fine up to Rs.10,000. The guilty can be suspended or dismissed and also debarred from gaining admission to an institution for five years.

However, incidents of ragging have been reported from various campuses despite such legislation. Many institutions fail to take action against offenders as well as adopt the anti-ragging provisions on the campus. Kozhikode Medical College Principal P.V. Ramachandran said the first year MBBS, BDS and B.Sc. Nursing classes would start only in September.

Like in the previous years, the anti-ragging squad would be stepped up to ensure that incidents do not take place against fresher candidates at the hostels and on the campus.

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