This year, 131 cases flood anti-ragging national helpline

In 2011, Anna University suspended a group of second and third year students for ragging first-year students. This year, a leading college on the city's outskirts had to take disciplinary action against 10 seniors for harassing a first-year student. Both cases were not brought to the notice of police, but academic authorities did initiate action against the offenders.

Today, the menace of ragging is being fought through a two-pronged approach. Government has created a reporting mechanism to ensure that educational institutions do not brush incidents under the carpet and secondly, serious cases are dealt with in a legal manner. The HRD ministry has received 67 complaints from first-year students in colleges across the country since the start of the academic year. The ministry has closed 16 cases. Inquiries are being conducted on the remaining, but only a few have been brought to the notice of the police.

In all, the figures suggest reporting of ragging on the national helpline has been on the rise since the mechanism was introduced in 2009. In most cases, educational authorities have acted on their own without involving the police.

"We show no leniency in dealing with the problem, but we do not take every issue to police because we will lose the confidence of students. The situation will become too complicated and the informant or complainant will be under too much pressure," said a professor, who declined to be named.

TN was one of the first states to make ragging a cognizable offence. The Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Ragging Act 1997 was enacted after a medical student at Annamalai University, was murdered by his senior. But, over the years academicians have begun to feel that the offence needs to be decriminalized and discussed in the open so awareness is created about how it affects students rather than treat them like criminals.

D Purandeswari, minister of state for human resource development, voiced similar reservations about the Prohibition and Eradication of Ragging Bill 2011 when it was being debated in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. The bill seeks to debar the convicted student from continuing studies in any school or college for three years.

"We cannot eradicate ragging by bringing in yet another legislation . We are seeing a decline in number of cases though more students are coming forward to report instances of ragging. The issue should be addressed holistically rather than as a law and order problem," she had said.

A professor, who declined to be named, also blamed students' ignorance as the cause of the menace. "Many cases of ragging occur because of the ignorance of a student. We are of the opinion that a momentary act of indiscretion should not be allowed to spoil the student's future."

All India Council of Technical Education issues directives to curb ragging

Adopting stringent measures to curb ragging in engineering and technical institutes, the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has issued fresh directives including mandatory submission of affidavit by the students. The new guidelines will be applicable from the upcoming session.

According to the new directives issued by the apex body for technical institutes in the country, students and their parents will have to submit an affidavit mentioning that the students would not be involved in any form of ragging.

"It is a good step taken by AICTE. It will help in curbing the menace in a bigger way. The affidavit will keep students away from ragging incidents," spokesperson of Madhya Pradesh Association of Technical and Professional Institutes, B S Yadav said.

Students living in hostels will have to submit two affidavits. "Hostellers will have to submit the affidavit mentioning that they would abide by the rules on anti-ragging. They also have to submit an affidavit stating the same about the hostel. Students will have to mention categorically that they would not be involved in ragging in the hostel," Yadav said.

The technical institutions and engineering colleges have been also asked to display specifically the anti-ragging measures at the entry and exit gates of the institutes. "Institutes will have to clearly mention the names and numbers of members of the anti-ragging committee. This will help students approach the authorities concerned," Yadav said.

In the new guidelines, it has also been mentioned that students found guilty of instigating his fellow students would also be treated guilty. The AICTE launched the anti-ragging drive in 2009. The latest guidelines have been inculcated in the previous guidelines. The new guidelines states that in case engineering colleges and institutions fail to abide by the rule, they might have to face cancellation of their affiliation.