By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The concept of ‘ragging’ though not common to Meghalaya is now catching up and making its way into the educational institutions of the State in surreptitious ways, local Advocate Eva Rynjah claimed.
“Ragging, similar to bullying might not be known in Meghalaya but it is practiced here by senior students to extract compliance and demand respect from their juniors to. This is common especially among college students,” Rynjah stated.
Rynjah was addressing a one-day legal literacy class organized by the office of the additional Deputy Commissioner, East Khasi Hills at Synod Higher Secondary School here on Friday.
Presenting the statistics of death caused by ragging all over the country, Rynjah said every year, around 10 to 14 death cases occur due to this menace while stating that school students are no excluded from this menace.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), student suicides have increased 26% from 2006 to 2010, with Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai accounting for most victims in that order. While 5,857 student suicides were reported in 2006, the figure jumped to 7,379 in 2010, according to data released by the NCRB.
It may be mentioned that the academic year 2009-10 registered the highest number of deaths due to ragging in the country. However, there is no specific section to record deaths on account of ragging is mentioned by the NCRB.
“Ragging is a criminal offence under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and it is a clear violation of Human Rights,” Rynjah said.
She also stated that the Supreme Court has issued a direction to all UGC recognized institutions, National Council of Educational Research and Technology (NCERT) and State Council of (Contd on P-10)
Mild ragging…
(Contd from P-1) Educational Research and Technology (SCERT) to explore the subject of ragging and to launch wide publicity of this menace.
“This should be a collective responsibility of institutions and accordingly, there will be due scrutiny to check whether such cases are happening in the campuses. Those who fail to follow instructions will lose their grants-in-aid,” she mentioned while adding that an Anti-Ragging Committee has been directed to be set up in every institution to be headed by the principal of the said institution.
When asked whether, such regulations are followed in Meghalaya, Rynjah said “Since such issues have not been unearthed in the state, the Committee is kept at bay but the same is being strictly maintained to ensure the students’ safety.”
Meanwhile, advocate Mona Wahlang spoke at length on the Right to Education (RTE) Act stating that this act which came into force on April 2010 is yet to be implemented in the state due to the lack of trained teachers and classrooms.
“In Meghalaya, the final draft of this Act has been approved with seven changes and notifications yet the same is yet to be implemented”, Wahlang said.
While mentioning the provisions of this act, Wahlang said the financial aspects to implement this is a 45:55 share between the state and centre adding “The Finance Commission has allotted Rs 25 thousand crores to the states to implement this act.”
This act will provide free and compulsory education to children between the age group of 6-14 and will reduce the rate of drop outs in the state while boosting its literacy level, she added.
The one-day legal literacy class was also attended by Magistrate PK Sangma, Principal of Synod Higher Secondary School Dolly Shullai, AS Mukhim, teachers and students.