Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has called the report submitted to University Grants Commission (UGC) by Jadavpur University, about the death of a student due to alleged ragging and sexually harassment, “not satisfactory”.
UGC had sought response from the university on steps being taken to implement its recently issued guidelines on the anti-ragging system. These include the installation of CCTV cameras, a separate cell to deal with ragging cases, and a communication facility among others.
“The University Grants Commission has sought a response from the university on what steps it has taken to implement these suggestions. The UGC has taken the matter seriously, and we have also taken it seriously. The university’s report to the commission was not satisfactory,” Pradhan said on the sidelines of a programme.
He said that there is no place for ragging in educational institutes and that the West Bengal government “cannot evade responsibility” for the incident.
A JU official said the university authorities have responded to queries “within the regulatory framework about what had been done and the reasons for what could not be done”.
The 67-year-old university also sent an exhaustive report to the University Grants Commission on multiple queries about the alleged ragging and sexual harassment of the undergraduate student that led to his death, as directed by the statutory body.
The 17-year-old student died after falling from a second-floor balcony of the main boys’ hostel on August 9. His family alleged he was a victim of ragging.
With inputs from PTI