Delhi University has introduced stringent anti-ragging measures, including mandatory declarations, awareness campaigns, patrols, mentorship, grievance platforms, and control rooms, ensuring safety and smooth induction of new students.
A meeting of the Proctorial Board, held on Monday, finalised the introduction of new measures to Delhi University’s anti-ragging policy, ensuring a strict and robust stance against ragging across institutions to facilitate the smooth induction of the newly admitted students.
As opposed to the earlier approach of restricting surveillance to “sensitive areas”, the revised policy seeks to reach as many areas as possible. Additionally, the new policy includes the integration of technology through the use of online portals, Delhi Police and the Anti Ragging App.
All newly admitted students and their parents/guardians are required to submit an anti-ragging declaration through the national portal, www.antiragging.in. This mandate follows the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court to combat ragging in educational institutions under the recommendations of the Raghavan Committee.
Anti Ragging Week
Under the UGC guidelines, DU will observe Anti-Ragging Day on 12 August, with an entire week dedicated to anti-ragging awareness campaigns and discussions from 12 August to 18 August, in both Hindi and English.
Anti-Ragging Committee and Vigilance Squads
Colleges and requisite hostels have been made to restrict outsider access. There is a proposal for the formation of an Anti-Ragging Committee and Vigilance Squads with the help of students from the National Social Service and National Cadet Corps.
Police Surveillance
Regular patrolling will be conducted outside key campus areas, especially in women’s colleges. Using vehicles like Vamika, Delhi Police has ensured that plainclothed female officers will be present within and outside college campuses to prevent any sort of harassment against female students.
PG Verification
Students opting for paying guest accommodations, which has become extremely common, have been advised to verify their PGs with local police authorities to caution them from any exploitative practices in their accommodations.
Mentorship System
The university has rolled out a mentorship system where new students will be paired with faculty mentors outside their academic departments. An official in conversation with the Times of India stated that:
These mentors are expected to help new students navigate personal and emotional challenges that often come with the transition.”
Control Rooms
For instances of emergency, two control rooms, one each on the North and South Campus, are operable, from 1 August to 8 August. The numbers for the control rooms are:
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- North Campus: 27667221
- South Campus: 24119832
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An online platform will be launched for grievance redressal, which will also include a referral process for cybercrimes related to ragging. All institutional authorities are required to submit weekly compliance reports during the first three months of the academic year, followed by monthly reports to the University Proctor at [email protected].
Students have been asked to install both the UGC anti-ragging app and the Delhi Police’s Himmat app. The University of Delhi, in collaboration with Delhi Police, has committed to ensuring an effective implementation of anti-ragging measures across all campuses.
Featured Image Credits: Yaksh Handa for DU Beat
Divyanshi Dusad
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