ALAPPUZHA: The recent ragging incident at TD Medical College (TDMC) here in which a student tried to kill himself raises questions about enforcing the ban. The incident leading to the arrest of two medicos comes at a time when the University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked all institutions to implement recommendations of a four-member committee appointed by the Supreme Court to stop ragging. As per the data placed in Parliament in December, cases of ragging on campuses have shot up an all-time high of 889 - a 70 percent increase over 515 in 2016, and Kerala ranks fourth on the list.
There were 34 cases in Kerala in 2016, a sharp rise from eight in 2009 when the apex court intervened and heightened surveillance. In a letter to vice-chancellors, the UGC has directed institutes to install CCTV cameras and create a “proper surveillance mechanism including a check on hostels by the wardens." The SC appointed a panel of mental health and public health professionals to carry out “psychosocial study of ragging in selected educational institutions" in 2009 following the death of Aman Kachroo, a student at a medical college in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh.
TDMC principal Dr M. Pushpalatha said the incident took place despite the preventive measures in place. "We have set up 22x7 cameras both on the campus and at hostels and appointed monitoring panels. All the students have been made aware of the rules and procedures for filing a complaint," she told DC. "There is also a mechanism to get an anti-ragging oath signed in the presence of parents every year and posters on the campus explain its seriousness. In the latest case, we are awaiting the police charge sheet."
The state government had also tightened the rules after eight first-year students of a polytechnic at Nattakom in Kottayam district were allegedly subjected to brutal ragging at the men’s hostel on December 2, 2016. One of the students hailing from Irinjalakuda got his kidneys damaged. Interestingly, the SC-ordered study found 32.6 percent students enjoying ragging while 45.1 percent said they felt terrible only initially.
