College Principals, Registrars Will Be Answerable For Extreme Ragging, Suicide Cases: UGC

The UGC has recommended universities to appoint a legal expert to oversee matters related to ragging and instances of suicide.

University Grants Commission (Office Picture)

Encouraging heightened anti-ragging efforts in all higher education institutions (HEIs), the University Grants Commission said that in cases of severe ragging or instances leading to suicide, the college principal and university registrar will be summoned and held accountable by the National Anti-Ragging Monitoring Committee for non-compliance with the Commission's ragging regulations, as announced on Thursday.

In instances of serious suicides or fatalities, all councils must promptly form a committee to re-examine the matter, even during ongoing police investigations. They are strongly recommended to appoint a legal representative for the review process.

“The Anti Ragging Cell and Anti Ragging Squads of institutions should be empowered by provisioning of a legal counsel so that airtight cases against the ragging culprits can be made,” the UGC said.

According to NCRB data, in the year 2022, there were 170,924 cases of accidental deaths and suicides. Among these, only 1.2 percent were related to deaths associated with examination failures.

Issuing strict instructions to comply with all anti-ragging guidelines, the higher education regulatory body urged all universities, colleges, and HEIs not to overlook the implementation of these guidelines. Institutions failing to comply with UGC regulations—such as establishing anti-ragging committees and squads, installing CCTV cameras at crucial locations—will face repercussions. The communication addressed to HEI heads reiterated the Supreme Court's five-point compliance directive.

The Commission clarified that in any future instances of ragging or suicide within an HEI, the university registrar and college principal will be summoned before the National Anti-Ragging Monitoring Committee. They will be held accountable for explaining how such incidents occurred despite stringent rules, and further actions will be based on their responses.

In a letter, the UGC said that in accordance with the Supreme Court's directive, regulations have been established to curb ragging within higher education institutions. Emphasizing the mandatory nature of these rules, the formation of an anti-ragging committee, anti-ragging squad, and anti-ragging cell is deemed necessary.

Along with this, anti-ragging workshops and seminars will have to be organized. Providing information about nodal officers on the university-college website will be compulsory, said Manish Joshi, secretary, UGC.