Ranjan Kumar Padmapati
(The writer can be reached at rkpadmapati@yahoo.co.in)
Sometime before, the principal of the AEC convened a meeting of the past boarders,students, guardians, and teachers against the backdrop of the recent road accident that took place on the night of May 28, 2023, when seven students lost their lives. The college has the distinction of producing some of the most brilliant engineers working in India and abroad. The alumni of the college have been inducted into the All India Services, like the IAS, IPS, and IES, and the state services, like the ACS, APS, etc. Ex-students are serving at national institutes like the IITs and NITs as teachers. But for a couple of years, some of the disturbing incidents have raised the eyebrows of former students. On one occasion, two or three years ago, a few students of this college vandalised a marriage ceremony of a household near the campus. Police had to intervene, an FIR was lodged by the parents of the bride, and arrests were made. The arrested students had to appear for the examination from jail. It was also reported in the news that some students were in the habit of extorting money from trucks passing through the college road. On a different occasion, there was infighting between two groups of students in two hostels, and college properties were damaged. Yet in another incident, the hostel superintendent was roughly handled, but no action was initiated. The meeting was cancelled as the principal proceeded on compulsory leave, but it prompted me to write a few lines earnestly as an ex-AECian.
In our time, hostel discipline was maintained mostly by senior students of 4th and 5th years, not only in the hostels alone but also at different places like the canteen, college bus, playground, college auditorium, etc. Juniors obeyed their seniors as their elder brothers (dada), and seniors also exhibited exemplary behaviour before juniors in every walk of life. In each hostel in every block, one monitor from the final-year boarders was chosen who was capable of exercising influence on boarders on matters relating to hostel discipline. The monitor works as a link between the superintendent and the students. For going out or staying outside, permission was essential in the form of an application. All activities were under the surveillance of the monitor. One former monitor of this college has written in the column ‘Letters to the Editor’ of this paper (The Sentinel) that every evening he used to inspect each room around 9 p.m. If the system of appointing a monitor is abolished, it is to be restored and strengthened. Now that it is possible to install CCTV cameras at the entrance of the hostel or at vulnerable locations and connect them to the exiting LAN network, activities can be monitored by superintendents and the principal at their residences. This will prevent outsiders from visiting the hostel in the evening at odd hours to convert rooms into ‘bars,” as reported in a section of the newspaper. It will work as a deterrent. In those days, information flowed in all directions. Both the principal and superintendent were vigilant about the atmosphere prevailing in hostels. Here, I am tempted to cite one incident. In a particular hostel one evening, a drink party was going on in a room with doors wide open. The information reached both the principal and the superintendent. Immediately, both arrived together and caught all the boozers red-handed. An exemplary punishment was given, and guardians were called. Now where is that kind of discipline? It was Principal Dr. SD Gogoi’s able administration! The problem was nipped in the bud before it could spread to other borders. The students are of adolescent (teen) age and in need of a father figure to control them in the absence of parents. Guardians can play a pivotal role in restricting pocket money so that surplus money is not available for alcohol consumption and should remain in close contact with their children. The combined teachers community needs to strengthen the hands of principals and superintendents to reinforce decaying discipline. College and hostel rules are to be framed and circulated. Ex-students visiting on occasions of celebration of different Jubilee Functions at night should refrain from drinking in hostels. The principal was officiating as duel in charge of DTE and principal, shuttling between two offices at a distance of 30 km. During that period, much of the damage was inflicted.
The writer and two other ex-students visited the college about 3 months before, interacted with the boarders of four numbers of hostels, found them to be quite courteous, and were impressed by their gentle behaviour. The teachers’ opinion is quite correct in remarking that the majority of students are still gentlemen. From the interactions, it came to light that the vacancy of cooks or helpers in hostels has not been filled for a long time, falling vacant upon retirement. Now the boarders bear the costs of temporary cooks, helpers, etc. employed by them, increasing mess dues. Similar is the case with the cleaners of toilets. The college authority needs to be proactive and fill the vacancies immediately. Of late, a boarder from Hostel Number-7 has made a desperate appeal to ex-students to contribute generously to meet the expenses of cooks, helpers, etc. and expressed difficulty running the mess. It seems the whole thing is in very bad shape. Much of the old furniture is old, not usable, and requires replacement. Hostel seats now remain vacant.
Campus is not safe; the number of theft cases is on the rise, and hence teachers prefer to stay outside. Among the 85 serving teachers, only 25 reside on the campus against 1200 boarders; it ceases to be a residential campus, and many vacancies have not been filled. Engaging private security services may be one such option. Hostel superintendents are to stay inside campus near hostels. Private houses have sprung up on the college campus, suspected to be encroachments on college land; no boundary wall exists. A police station (Beat Post) may be set up on campus to deal with anti-social elements. Even some of the solar panels installed on the roof top of the college building, which were installed at a cost of Rs. 1.5 crore, have been stolen. These are completely defunct now, not producing even a watt. As the approach road bifurcation junction from National High Way to the college via the Government Ayurvedic College is accident-prone, it requires a light-signalling point. The defunct, tall Tower-Cloak over the college building is beckoning the public from a distance, as if it would speak out tonnes of untold stories. To divert the minds from alcoholism, games and sports activities, cultural functions, facilities for indoor games in hostels, drama completions, etc. are to be sufficiently encouraged.