38.6% of ragging incidents in medical colleges, says NHRC at anti-ragging open house

Medical institutions in India are the hotspots for ragging, accounting for 38.6% of incidents despite having only 1.1% of the total student population in the country, says the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) during an ‘Open House Discussion’ on anti-ragging laws in Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) in India.

The meeting, chaired by Justice V Ramasubramian, chairperson, NHRC, held at Manav Adhikar Bhawan, New Delhi was on the topic: ‘Re-examining Ragging in Higher Educational Institutions: Creating Safer Campuses through awareness, accountability and action.’

Pointing out unchanged enforcement to curb 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.”

Though there is an abundance of laws, statutes, committees and regulation such as the 2001 guidelines, the RK Raghavan Committee, and the 2009 UGC regulations, the anti-ragging enforcement remains a major challenge, he added.

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Professors, deans from IITs, IIMs took part

As per the government data, medical institutions are the hotspots for ragging, accounting for 38.6% of incidents despite having only 1.1% of the total student population in the country, Shri Bharat Lal, secretary general, NHRC stated.

Another senior member Samir Kumar, joint secretary, NHRC, highlighted the prevalence of caste-based ragging in certain parts of the country and emphasised the need for inclusive, targeted interventions.

The open house discussion saw participation from several dignitaries from various colleges and institutions.

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, including many other professionals from IIT DDelhi, NMC, BHU took part in the discussion.

NHRC Anti-Ragging Open House: Key takeaways

From active participation by several college representatives and education-related government officials, the commission has pointed out important suggestions to curb ragging in colleges. The result of the discussion is given below.

• Display of the UGC’s 24x7 anti-ragging helpline on every institution’s website.
• Immediate Mandatory reporting to police.
• Encourage anonymous complaints of ragging.
• Representation of SC, ST, OBC minorities in anti-ragging committees.
• Ensuring 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 the approval of the district administration.
• Annual anti-ragging reports from institutions 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.
• The ‘nudge technique’ by Richard Thaler needs to be implemented to subliminally changed peoples’ mindset for preventing ragging.