In its bid to sensitise and counsel students on the ill-effects of ragging, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has come out with four short films and a documentary. The apex educational body has directed all the universities and educational institutes to screen these films regularly for the students during orientation and other programmes.
“Ragging is a criminal offence and the UGC has framed regulations to curb this menace in higher educational institutes in order to prohibit, prevent and eliminate the scourge of ragging,” UGC Secretary JS Sandhu said in a communication to Vice Chancellors (VCs) of universities.
The UGC has notified suitable punishment to the perpetrators of incidents of ragging under the UGC Act. Action will be taken against institutes if they lack adequate steps to prevent ragging. According to the ‘2009 Regulations on Curbing the Menace of Ragging in Higher Educational Institutions’, these steps are mandatory.
Embracing the UGC’s move, a research scholar from Delhi School of Social Science, Prasant Mukherjee elucidated that the content has to be specific to call an issue like ragging but that alone will be defunct; interaction is needed. Restricting Freedom of Speech in the campuses will push the situation in devil’s mouth.
The higher education regulatory body has also directed all the educational institutes to screen these films recurrently. Reacting to that, Dilip Chakravarty, the student of Jamia Millia Islamia explained that screening of movies is a minimal thing. What needs to be done is establishment of bodies in institutional level. The anti-discriminatory mechanisms in the universities should be more effective. “Ragging is just an element of the entire hidden layers of oppression. The institutional murder needs to be addressed first. Ragging is somehow connected to the social position. People from marginalized society are more prone to discrimination”.
Pravin from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) said students want the 2016 UGC Gazette to be modified.
Responding to the films which have been uploaded on the UGC’s official website, Himani Arora, an MA (English) student from Maharishi Dayanand University said engaging and attractive visuals with real stories will elevate students’ connectivity. She also added “To a certain level it would be helpful to leave an impact on students mind. Timing of screening will also matter, as in screening during college fest will involve students’ participation from varied colleges”, Himani added.