AP govt plans anti-ragging helpline for medical students

Amaravati: Following the controversial ragging case of a first-year postgraduate medical student who allegedly committed suicide and was declared dead few days later by the doctor of Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), Hyderabad, the Andhra Pradesh government has directed officials to tackle ragging incidents in medical colleges with an iron hand.

Aimed at eliminating harassment, state Health Minister Vidadala Rajini said all medical colleges in the state should be alert to this menace, in a review meeting attended by all the principals of government and private medical colleges.

The health minister in a statement on Feb 28 said that harassment, in any form should not be exerted on medicos anymore. Anti-ragging committees must be active in colleges and function in their full capacity.

Also read- First Year MD Anaesthesia Medico Of Kakatiya Medical College Attempts Suicide, Alleges Harassment By Senior

In the event of any ragging incidents arising, the minister instructed that the director of medical education (DME) and health university vice chancellor must directly monitor those incidents, adding that regular updates should be received from college anti-ragging committees.

Medical Dialogues had reported the incident where a junior doctor pursuing PG in Anaesthesiology at Kakatiya Medical College (KMC), Warangal, allegedly attempted suicide by taking some injections, reportedly after being harassed by one of her seniors. She was undergoing treatment at Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) Hyderabad as her condition is said to be critical. However, soon she was declared dead due to multiple organ failure. 

“Teaching staff must behave in a congenial manner towards students. Some senior professors are exerting undue pressure on post graduate students due to their own parallel clinic businesses,” she observed, and highlighted that these kinds of side businesses must end.

Besides offering quality education, Rajini emphasised the importance of security, calling for stringent measures to safely bring medicos in the society.

Moreover, she instructed all colleges to set up counselling sessions to students, including arranging yoga and meditation to beat pressure, PTI reports.

Likewise, the minister noted that colleges should fix complaint boxes as well as install a public address system to quickly send across any message, along with a surveillance system.

“Every female student should use the Disha app. Accommodation has to be separate for seniors and juniors with different dining schedules, ensuring they don’t have the same meal time.” She ordered officials to make sure that no medical college in the southern state registered a ragging complaint.

Besides private medical colleges, AP runs 18 government medical colleges, which also include a couple of dental colleges.

Also read- Telangana PG Medico Dies After Attempting Suicide, Govt Announces Rs 10 Lakh Compensation To Kin