Odisha: Students taking admission in colleges to give undertaking not to indulge in ragging

BERHAMPUR: The Odisha government has made it mandatory for students taking admission in degree colleges to submit an undertaking not to indulge or abet ragging, an official said. LK Tripathy, the regional director of education, Berhampur on Monday has written to all government and private college authorities to collect such undertakings from each fresh student to ensure a ragging-free college campus.

The regional director’s letter in this regard came following some recent incidents in Bhubaneswar and Bolangir where students allegedly committed suicide due to ragging by senior students in their respective institutions. While a first-year plus-3 girl student died by suicide in BJB Autonomous College in Bhubaneswar on July 2, an MBBS student in Bolangir had allegedly jumped off the fourth floor of the medical college ending his life.

Keeping the rising trend of ragging in higher educational institutions, Tripathy in the letter said: "Each student will be asked to give written undertaking not to indulge or abet ragging.” At the same time he also asked the principals to form anti-ragging squads, committees in each institute and sensitize the students, including the fresher and seniors about the anti-ragging provisions. The leaflets or the brochures on the anti-ragging provisions should be distributed to each student of the colleges, he said.

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The official also urged the parents and guardians of the fresher or junior students to promptly bring to the notice of the head of the institution if any such instance of ragging comes to their notice. Tripathy also asked college heads to ensure that each hostel had a full-time warden who resided within or near the hostel. The anti-ragging movement should be taken from the beginning of admission in the colleges to ensure a ragging-free campus, said Tripathy, adding that no act of ragging, major or minor, should go unnoticed. “No ragger, male or female student or non-student, should go unpunished” he said.

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Ganjam collector Dibya Jyoti Parida on July 7, held a meeting of the heads of the major institutes, basically technical institutions and asked them to take strict anti-ragging measures from the beginning of the sessions. The collector also asked them to create awareness among the students about the anti-ragging provisions. Action was taken against a house surgeon in MKCG Medical College and hospital here in the month of May for allegedly indulging in ragging on a junior medical student in college.

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