New UGC guidelines to be issued soon with regulations on student entitlementsmake it mandatory for colleges to report all ragging and harassment cases to Mumbai University (MU) once every two months. UGC has also instructed universities to publish and make students aware of grievance redressal regulations gazetted earlier this year. All colleges affiliated to MU will now have to compulsorily submit bi-monthly reports on harassment and ragging and action taken. Even if a college has zero cases. This will bring accountability and ensure colleges are not lax in addressing concerns of students, said a university official. Copies of the UGC letter have been sent to all colleges and they have been asked to bring the guidelines to the notice of students. We will soon issue a circular to colleges which will include this new rule. The circular will direct them to ensure students and teachers are aware of grievance redressal regulations that should be strictly complied with, said the official. MU is also planning to start friends societies in all colleges. The societies will be semi-informal set-ups headed by senior teachers to address grievances of students. The informal set-up will ensure students are more comfortable discussing their problems, said another official. Student grievances include irregularities in admission process and making admission contrary to merit,non-publication of prospectus and publishing false or misleading information in it. Breach of reservation policies,alleged discrimination against SC/ST/OBC/minority/disabled students,women,harassment and victimisation of students,including sexual harassment,and withholding or refusing to return degree/diploma certificates to compel students to pay fee form another set of grievances. Students can also report delay in conduct of exams and result declaration,unfair evaluation process and denial of quality education as promised at the time of admission. The MU grievance redressal committee is a statutory body. It meets every month and deals with average five-six student grievances. The college principal has to be present to explain every case, said a MU authority. mihika.basu@expressindia.com
