UGC team visits Jadavpur University, takes stock of measures taken to prevent ragging

Kolkata: A team of the UGC visited the Jadavpur University (JU) in Kolkata on Monday to take stock of the steps taken to prevent ragging on campus, weeks after a student died at its hostel.

The four-member team of the University Grants Commission (UGC) will oversee the infrastructure available on the campus to avert incidents like ragging, and hold talks with varsity officials and other stakeholders, JU's officiating vice-chancellor Buddhadeb Sau said.

The team will also visit the main boys' hostel where the first-year undergraduate student was allegedly ragged, and he eventually died on August 10.

Sau said that the UGC had made certain queries about whether the anti-ragging guidelines are being followed by the varsity, and an exhaustive reply would be sent to it as soon as possible.

"CCTV cameras are already there on the campus, and some more will be installed at strategic points. The work order has already been issued," he told reporters, adding that the details will be shared with the UGC team.

In the team were National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) vice-chancellor Shashikala Wanjari, VC of Mahatma Gandhi Central University in Motihari Sanjay Srivastava, Associate Professor of NIT-Durgapur Joydeep Banerjee, and joint secretary in UGC Vipin Kaushal.

The UGC had earlier voiced displeasure over the report sent by JU about the measures taken to prevent ragging on campus, following the death of the student.