Socio-economic differences trigger infighting among IIIT-Basar students

ADILABAD: In the fallout from a recent incident of ragging on the IIIT-Basar campus, infighting has increased between senior students and freshers due to their differences in economic and social status caused by altered admission criteria, sources said.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the IIIT-Basar deviated from considering only SSC marks of those applicants from government schools and extended it to cover polytechnic courses as well for the 2021-22 academic year.

Sources said that the students admitted in 2021-22 came from relatively well-to-do families compared to other batches, which mostly comprised those from economically weaker sections.

Further, an urban and rural divide among students compounded their differences, as many who came from wealthy families were from cities and towns, and had studied in CBSE schools.

The five PUC-2 who were booked for ragging juniors came from cities, including Hyderabad, Siddipet, Warangal, Karimnagar, and Nirmal, while the victims were from Dharmabad of Maharashtra.

A senior official of Basar-IIIT, requesting anonymity, said, “Both the PUC-1 and 2 students clashed over differences on some issues. It was found that the PUC-2 students damaged fans, pillows, and doors, and stole mattresses.”

“No ragging incident took place on the Basar-IIIT campus in the past 14 years since its establishment,” the official said.