Ragging - status !

Ragging : How big is the Problem?

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The Raghavan Committee was set up by the union Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry, on the orders of the hon’ble Supreme Court of India. In their detailed report submitted before the hon’ble apex court in 2007, the expert Committee reported:

“When we embarked on this task, we did not anticipate the overwhelming response and the enormous interest that would be generated by this topic”.  

In India, probably no exact stats exist. The shocking tales that come in the newspapers constitute not even the tip of the iceberg.  The Raghavan Committee’s visit to many cities across India, their interactions with the concerned people in those cities and their subsequent report describes the Indian scenario.

The All India Survey on Higher Education (2013-14), by the Govt. of India, estimated the total enrolment in higher education to be around 32.3 million. [Data Source page (ii) / page 8 of the document]

The Indian Express reported in January, 2016:

“While close to 40 per cent students in colleges across India faced some kind of ragging, only 8.6 per cent reported the incidents, a study funded by University Grants Commission (UGC) on the directions of Supreme Court has found out.”

While many colleges teaching general degree courses may remain unaffected by ragging, many of the professional colleges appear to be badly affected.

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The Raghavan Committee mentioned in their report :

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“Most of the parents have reported that the University/college support for following up on the case with the law and order machinery has been lukewarm – indeed in some cases the institutions have actively dissuaded persistent parents.”    

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The Committee also noted :

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“It was brought to the notice of the Committee that it is almost impossible for a fresh student to lodge a complaint against a ‘ragger’ with [the appropriate] authorities. We were told that insurmountable pressure of nefarious kinds is put on those who are ragged and on their kith and kin. Worst is the plight of the hostel residents who can not seek protection from any quarter... …”                       

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2013

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Response to our application under the Right to Information (RTI) act revealed :

• The number of phone calls made to the Anti Ragging Helpline in last 3 months : 1,65,297

But,

• Out of these phone calls made (as above), how many complaints were formally registered with the Anti-Ragging Helpline : 190
  

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2016

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Response to our application under the Right to Information (RTI) act revealed [Jan, 2016]:

• The phone calls were made from 1st January, 2014 to till date to Anti Ragging Helpline = 13,49,437

But,

• Out of 1349247 phone calls , total complaints registered as formal complaints = 770

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• Well, may we draw an inference, considering the figure to represent <9% 

            ...as the study (mentioned above) had found out???

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Ragging complaints were mostly reported from institutions of higher education. Unfortunately,  in recent times,  complaints have started surfacing from schools as well.