UGC issues new directives to universities to check ragging in hostels

Bhubaneswar/New Delhi: Taking cognizance of the increasing cases of ragging across the country, especially in hostels, the University Grant Commission (UGC) has asked universities to install alarm bells in hostels to nab the troublemakers.

As part of the anti-ragging measures, UGC issued a circular on July 26 stating that stern action will be taken against the educational institutions if they fail to prevent ragging in their premises and fail to take punitive action against the guilty.

 "Any violation of these regulations will be viewed seriously. If an institution fails to take adequate steps to prevent ragging or does not act in accordance with these regulations or fails to punish perpetrators suitably, it will attract punitive action by the UGC,” reads the circular issued by UGC secretary Jaspal S Sandhu.

As per a report of HT, the anti-ragging call centre has so far received about 288 complaints against last year’s 515 and 423 in 2015.

UGC has also instructed varsities to take some other measures like surprise visits to hostels and regular checks of canteens, toilets and recreational rooms.

Meanwhile, any victim of ragging or a student in trouble can call the 24x7 national anti-ragging helpline 1800-180-5522.

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Earlier this month in Odisha, a video of a student allegedly being ragged and beaten up on Lalitgiri hostel premise of Ravenshaw University went viral. A case was even registered against 10 students in connection with the case.

A second year student of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) was also allegedly ragged by senior students of the institute.