NHRC made this observation during an 'Open House Discussion' on anti-ragging laws in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) in India. The meeting was chaired by NHRC Chairperson, Justice V Ramasubramian, and it was held at Manav Adhikar Bhawan, New Delhi, where the issue of 'Re-examining Ragging in Higher Educational Institutions: Creating Safer Campuses through awareness, accountability and action' was discussed.
Highlighting the unchanged enforcement to curb instances of ragging in higher educational institutions, Ramasubramanian said, "There should be stronger monitoring mechanisms to stop ragging in its various manifestations. There is a need to enforce statutes, greater sensitivity in handling complaints and strict anonymity for complainants to ensure victims' protection and justice."
He also opined that in spite of an abundance of laws, statutes, committees, and regulations such as the 2001 guidelines, the RK Raghavan Committee, and the 2009 UGC regulations, the anti-ragging enforcement remains a major challenge.
Also Read: Forced to salute, sit on floor, beaten up! 5 interns of Nizamabad Medical College allegedly booked for ragging MBBS student
38.6% Ragging Incidents from Medical Colleges:
As per the latest media report by Careers 360, during the meeting, NHRC Secretary General Shri Bharat Lal mentioned that as per the government data, medical institutes are the hotspots for ragging, accounting for 38.6% of incidents, even though they have only 1.1% of the total population in India.
Another senior member, the joint secretary of NHRC, Samir Kumar, pointed out that there was a prevalence of caste-based ragging in certain parts of the country. Referring to this, he highlighted the need for inclusive and targeted interventions.
Measures suggested by NHRC to curb ragging:
Based on the active participation by several college representatives and education-related government officials, NHRC pointed out important suggestions to curb ragging in higher educational institutes including medical colleges. It suggested the display of UGC's 24x7 anti-ragging helpline on every institute's website.
Apart from this, NHRC advised immediate mandatory reporting to police, encouraged anonymous complaints of ragging, advocated for representation of SC, ST, OBC minorities in anti-ragging committees. Further, the Commission called to ensure victim safety and protection post-reporting, regular audits, surprise checks, CCTV surveillance, and police visits to campuses, establishing wellness and inclusion centres with trained mental health professionals, no closure of complaints without approval of the district administration.
Other measures recommended by NHRC included annual anti-ragging reports from institutes with evidence and accountability measures, recognition of ragging-free campuses as a best practice, parental involvement in complaint cases, collaboration between NHRC, NALSA and UGC, and the implementation of 'nudge technique' by Richard Thaler to subliminally changed peoples’ mindset for preventing ragging.
Several dignitaries from various colleges and institutes participated in the open house discussion. The list of participants included Rina Sonowal Kouli, joint secretary (higher education), Ministry of Education, Manish R. Joshi Secretary, University Grants Commission (UGC), NH Siddalinga Swamy, AICTE, Manas K. Mandal, professor of psychology, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, Rakesh Lodha, associate dean, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, Gururaj Gopinath Pamidi, Chief Administrative Officer, IIM Indore, and many other professionals from IIT Delhi, NMC, BHU.
Medical Dialogues had previously reported that earlier this year, in its report, the Society Against Violence in Education (SAVE) had noted that medical colleges accounted for 38.6% of total ragging complaints, 35.4% of serious cases, and a shocking 45.1% of ragging-related deaths in the past three years
Released on March 24, International Right to Truth Day, the report titled ‘State of Ragging in India 2022-24’ highlighted an alarming trend that demands immediate intervention.
According to the report, 3,160 complaints were registered on the National Anti-Ragging Helpline. Of these, 51 students died in 2022-24. Medical colleges accounted for 23 out of 51 deaths (45.1%)
The top 5 Medical Colleges, being in the spotlight for ragging in India, received the most complaints at the National Anti-Ragging are the MKCG Medical College And Hospital, Odisha with 25 Complaints, Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru Memorial Medical College Raipur, Chhattisgarh, with 15 complaints, Vardhman Institute of Medical Sciences Pavapuri, Bihar with 14 complaints, State Takmeel-Ut-Tib College & Hospital, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh with 12 complaints and Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi with 11 complaints.
Also Read: Medical Colleges biggest ragging hotspots in India with 45 percent death toll in 2022-24, Check out list
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