Following the Aman Kachroo ragging case in Himachal Pradesh,the University Grants Commission (UGC) has prepared draft regulations that propose to make it mandatory for all students and their parents to furnish written undertakings that they are well versed with the laws and punishments for ragging. That,coupled with behavioural pattern reports of each student submitted at the time of admission,separate undertakings for hostel accommodation as directed by the Medical Council of India (MCI) recently and widespread publicity of anti-ragging rules are among the draft regulations proposed by the UGC. The commission plans to bring in legally enforceable regulations to check ragging,starting this academic session. The MCI sent out anti-ragging guidelines to all medical colleges last month,aiming to create a deterrent against ragging in educational institutes. As suggested in the MCI guidelines to check ragging,the UGCs draft regulations also say that each student application at the time of admission must include a behavioural pattern report to enable institutes to keep them under watch for any lapses. Students seeking hostel accommodation will have to submit separate undertakings. At the commencement of the academic session,the heads of the institutions shall convene meetings of various functionaries,including students represent- atives,parents,faculty and the district administration,to discuss the measures taken to prevent ragging. While posters against ragging shall be used liberally across institutes,vulnerable spots,dark or unmanned areas must be kept well-illuminated or guarded. The institutes will also utilise the vacation period to launch a wide-ranging publicity campaign against ragging. The UGC had earlier given directions to all institutes that admission brochures shall print anti-ragging regulations in full. The UGC will be discussing these draft regulations at a meeting later this month with all the councils/bodies monitoring higher education in the country,including the MCI,Dental Council of India and the All-India Council for Technical Education.
