Roadblocks aplenty in curtailing university student abuse
Leniency on the part of university authorities and reluctance shown by students to pursue complaints are setbacks in efforts to curb the ragging crisis, a senior police officer said.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, he called on the university authorities to strictly implement the Prohibition of Ragging and Other Forms of Violence in Educational Institutions Act, No. 20 of 1998.
He said ragging continued in universities largely because of the mitigation of complaints by university authorities, the reluctance of the victims to file complaints, the unwillingness of witnesses to testify, and the university management’s lack of support for victims.
Often, complaints were recorded at police stations as petty assaults, and both the victims and the university authorities are reluctant to file cases under the Act, the officer noted.
Noting that no form of ragging was tolerated in foreign universities such as London University, he pointed out that stern action was required to change the culture of ragging and blamed the university authorities for poor handling of the issue.
Higher Education State Minister Suren Raghavan told the Sunday Times that even if a hundred laws were created and policy decisions taken, the intended result could not be achieved without implementing the law and regulations.
"Ministers can create policies, but they should be implemented for the betterment of students by the university vice chancellors. Ragging happens at universities; therefore, everybody, from the VC to the security at the university, is responsible for preventing ragging,'' he said.
He explained that over the last eight months, they had been working towards setting up the 10-member national antiragging committee.
The committee comprises representatives from the President's office, the Prime Minister's office, the Human Rights Commission, the Attorney General's Department, the Defence Ministry, the Police (the Inspector General's representative), the University Grants Commission, the Council of
Vice Chancellors, the Right to Information Commission and a nominee in terms of the Witness Protection Act.
"When we had the trial run, we received a ragging complaint one hour after the committee office was set up, and we are trying to improve our response rate," Mr Raghavan said. The committee would also ensure victim protection.
Also, a five-member student representative group would temporarily work with the committee.
The issue came to the fore once again after the Supreme Court directed universities and the Inspector General of Police to submit separate reports on incidents of ragging and investigations into reported cases over the past three years.
The directive was given during the hearing of a petition by a Sri Jayawardenapura University (management faculty) student who suffered nearfatal injuries when a large backhoe tyre was rolled down a flight of stairs during a party organised for first-year students on March 5, 2020.
Police Media Spokesman Nihal Thalduwa said police and prosecutors were finding it difficult when there were no proper complaints and the victims and the witnesses were reluctant to provide information.
He said they had set up a hotline, 1997, and a WhatsApp number, 076 5453454, to make complaints confidentially and provide video, audio and picture evidence.
Senior Superintendent Thalduwa added they would carry out investigations securing the confidentiality of witnesses and even though the victim would be taken as the complainant in court, every measure would be taken to secure their privacy and confidentiality.
The University Grants Commission Secretary and National Anti-Ragging Committee representative, Dr Priyantha Premakumara, said that the UGC has a separate unit on ragging and violations against gender. He added they also have a hotline 011 123700.
He said they accept written complaints and also by telephone, and hand them over to the VCs, but students are reluctant to complain fearing further ragging by seniors.
Activist and law student Dhanuska Weerasekara told the Sunday Times that there should be coordination between the universities, the UGC and the judicial authorities.
He explained that universities, the area police, the UGC and the Attorney General’s Department have to be in the same mindset.
Complaints should be properly recorded and cases must be filed under the antiragging law, he said.
He added that a court case filed by a student of Ruhunu University over a ragging incident has been set aside until the Attorney General's advice is received.
In 2010, the UGC issued a circular on guidelines to be introduced to curb the menace of ragging in universities or higher educational institutes, yet "the circular is not properly followed," he said, adding that the circular outlined punishment for ragging.
The Prohibition of Ragging and Other Forms of Violence in Educational Institutions Act provides for rigorous imprisonment, up to 10 years, if a student is found guilty and could be expelled from the institution and also liable to pay compensation for any damages to property and injuries caused to the victims. Ragging is a non-bailable offence.
The Federation of University Teachers Association (FUTA) President, Prof Barana Jayawardena, said the association is against ragging of students. He admitted that students are dropping out due to ragging.