UGC Comes Out All against Ragging in Universities/Colleges

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has come out strongly against ragging instances and has urged all the universities to implement anti-ragging measures and to take stringent action against those who do not follow the guidelines.

UGC has made it very clear that it considers ragging to be a crime and accords top most priority to stop it immediately. It has also made it mandatory for all the institutions to incorporate the directions of the government regarding prohibition and consequences of ragging in their prospectus.

Jaspal S Sandhu, UGC secretary has written to vice-chancellors across universities in India stating that all complaints of discrimination and harassment including that of OBC students and students from the marginalized/disadvantaged groups must be properly recorded and acted upon promptly.

A university student from Dehradun on conditions of anonymity said,” I feel considering the recent incident of an attempt by a student to end his life in Maharashtra by jumping off from the skywalk allegedly due to ragging and being called names for his walking style has made UGC swing into action again to combat ragging. Even though the student survived, it definitely brings back the question that despite all measures being taken to curb this evil practise, ragging menace still continues and needs to be dealt with sternly."

The UGC, in pursuance to the judgement of the Supreme Court dated May 8, 2009 in Civil Appeal No. 887/2009, framed” UGC Regulations on curbing the menace of ragging in higher educational institutions, 2009” that were notified on June 17,2009. These regulations are available on the UGC website and are to be mandatorily followed by all universities and colleges.

UGC has also stated that a toll free anti-ragging helpline 1800-180-5522 in 12 languages has been properly established and is easily accessible twenty-four hours to the students in distress.

Another important thing to note is that since 2009 the maximum number of ragging complaints (3417 till date) have come from Uttar Pradesh (616) followed by West Bengal (418), Madhya Pradesh (355) and Odisha (308) and descending from thereon.