Hyderabad: The UGC quality mandate released on Tuesday not only stresses on employability but also on reducing the number of student suicides, cases of ragging and sexual harassment by introducing proper mechanisms to report these.
However, educational experts say that since the UGC does not have any means to check that its mandate is being followed, many institutions do not implement its instructions. Although bells were ordered to be installed in all hostels, in case of incidents of ragging, many institutions are yet to do so. CCTV cameras are also not present in many hostels.
Megha Ravi, a BA Psychology student says, “Cameras are yet to be installed in my hostel and it is the same in most universities in the state. Despite repeated protests, we haven’t seen an attempt to install CCTV cameras or bells. It is extremely important that these steps are taken to ensure that students are not mistreated. Missing cases and ragging can all be solved with the help of these measures but unless UGC asks for reports from universities with photographic or video evidence, the same carelessness will continue.”
The mandate also asks officials to take stringent action if a student is caught in an act of wrongdoing and ensure that he/she is expelled from the hostel immediately and allowed to complete the course only after an enquiry is conducted.
The measures are being introduced to make institutions more student friendly and to ensure that students feel safe on campus.
