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USM row: disquiet over probe panel

BHUBANESWAR: While a large number of agitating students of the Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya (USM) have expressed their resentment over formation of an inquiry committee comprising members of the department of culture to look into the allegations of sexual harassment of girl students by two faculty members of the institution, State Commission for Women (SCW) chairperson Namita Panda has also taken exception to the procedure.

The USM campus turned violent on March 14 over allegations of a few girl students that they were being harassed by two teachers of the Chhau dance and drama departments. Culture Minister S.N.Patro, who personally inquired into the matter, constituted a three-member committee to probe the matter and report within a fortnight.

On condition of anonymity, several students told this correspondent that they did not expect an impartial judgment from the committee as the members belong to the culture department and one of the accused faculty members holds an important portfolio in the Utkal University of Culture who is ‘close’ to the officials probing the matter. The girl students pointed out that they feel ’uncomfortable’ in talking about their plight to the male members of the committee.

Meanwhile, the SCW chief who visited the USM campus this week and held discussions with the agitating students and the principal expressed her reservation over the committee’s structure. The Supreme Court has ruled that such committees set up to probe sexual harassment of women must have at least five members with half of them and the chairperson being women.

The committee must include a lawyer and a social worker; she clarified and observed that the three-member committee constituted by the Minister does not follow the apex court’s directives.

Ms.Panda observed that there was ‘some’ truth in the allegations of the students who were ‘helpless’ to express their woes as they had the fear that they might be awarded poor marks by some faculty members for speaking against them.

The SCW chairperson, who has received a request from the agitating students to inquire, would write her observations to the Government, she stated.

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