Ragging: More questions

While the gruesome ragging incident in a Dibrugarh University hostel a few days ago has sent shock-waves across the state, it has also brought to light several things in one go. It appears that the anti-ragging mechanism in the University was not properly in place. It was only after the incident that the University authorities appeared to have woken up to hurriedly to announce setting up of an anti-ragging squad. Institutions of higher education are supposed to have an Anti-Ragging Committee, an Anti-Ragging Squad, a Mentoring Cell and a Monitoring Cell on Ragging. Whether Dibrugarh University had them in place is a matter of doubt. Each hostel must have a full-time warden who should have qualifications that include an ability to discipline, prevent ragging and communicate/counsel the students. Do the DU hostel wardens fulfill these requirements? An institution is supposed to take extensive measures to publicize against ragging by means of audio-visual aids, counselling sessions, workshops, etc. Did DU authorities do these? Institutions are also supposed to sensitize all the faculty, including non-teaching staff, on ragging. Was this done? Going by media reports, it appears that the DU authorities had neglected for long the menace of ragging. The same is true of many other institutions of Assam, including the engineering colleges, medical colleges and most colleges which have hostels. Did the DU authorities ask students (and their parents) at the time of admission to submit anti-ragging affidavits as prescribed by UGC? Were newly-admitted students, especially hostel boarders, given contact numbers of persons to reach out in the event of ragging? Also, did the DU authorities follow the recommendations of the Raghavan Committee appointed by the Ministry of HRD in 2007 to curb the menace of ragging? What were the activities that the DU authorities had carried out in order to prevent ragging in the campus? In fact, the Raghavan Committee had recommended a series of actions which are not only confined to the institutions, but also has defined roles for the district magistrate, and even the Governor in his/her capacity as Chancellor of most state universities. Have these recommendations been followed accordingly?