Why do you want ragging to be eradicated

Students are required to commit notes to memory to retain in their minds and then to reproduce it at examinations. That is not the meaning of education. But the present curriculum does not fulfill those expectations. There must be radical reforms of the existing curriculum. That is being undertaken immediately. I have prepared a Cabinet paper which will be presented to the Cabinet next Wednesday on curriculum reforms. It is essential. If that is to be successful there must be an inclusive consultation and it cannot be done only by the top level.

What we should to do is to present a set of tentative ideas and then have an islandwide discussion with the stakeholders such as the parents, teachers, students, Alumnai Associations, PTA Associations and Civil society organisations to get their response, their ideas and thoughts. That will be conducted at district level and we will invite people from the Divisional Secretariats. It is only after gathering these responses from the community, at large, and we will formulate the final policy.

Accordingly, the curriculum reform is very important. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has emphasized the value of science and technology and also English.

There was one of the changes made to the Education system by the Rajapaksa government between Until then there were only three streams. Arts, Science and Commerce. He added the fourth stream technology. That is to cater to the needs of modern society. English training is also important in the interest of the student. Today in Sri Lanka we have a situation where there is a high degree of motivation for one to learn English.

The problem is to train the trainers. Figures are rather disturbing. And there is also a disparity in the quality of teachers. These are all changes necessary to improve the Education system in our country.

We will be guided purely by the health authorities as the paramount concern is the health of the student. From this week schools will be open daily. We will be guided by the advice of the Health Ministry. For the first time preschool to higher education; all sectors have been brought under one ministry. I beg to differ. I think the critics somehow managed to completely ignore the meaning and intent hidden between the lines. This scene is not just symbolic of initiation of protest by a junior but also brings out the need and necessity of a united non-compliance with the unreasonable dictum of the perpetrator.

Generally, it is a disorganised group of first year students which is pitted against a united front of seniors and so, if these juniors make a conscious effort to unite in their denial to succumb to ragging, it would become very difficult for the seniors to successfully victimise them. The responsibility of training and counselling first year students for such an effort lies on both the parents and the College authorities.

If this happens, Shankar Xalxo and so many other students like him will no longer have to bury their dreams and run away from their educational institutions. Secondly, ragging is a unique phenomenon because it is a vicious circle. Its perpetuation continues because every year previous victims become perpetrators and a fresh cycle starts.

Since, the seniors were themselves victimised when they were juniors, they want to pay their juniors back with the same coin. One of the major recommendations of the Raghavan committee instituted by the Supreme Court for suggesting the means of prevention of Ragging in educational Institutions was that in the colleges and other educational institutions there should be a gap of one or two weeks between the day of joining of Freshmen and the others.

This step of staggered admission, if implemented, would allow specific attention to be given to the first year students with respect to countering, combating and complaining against ragging. Also, counselling and orientation sessions with respect to meaning, implication, effects and prevention of ragging can be organised for these students.

Senior students should be specifically counselled and informed about the penal and disciplinary consequences of ragging. Special effort should be taken to stop ostracizing, reprisal and mass intimidation of those juniors who dare to complain against ragging. Departmental joint sessions of senior and junior students should be organised, under the supervision of teachers or professional counsellors, in which positive ways of familiarisation should be introduced, like games to memorise names, trust building exercises, sub group mentorship, inter personal communications, team building exercises etc.

Lastly, I believe that the role of Students Union in Colleges and other educational institutions is very important especially when many a times, educational institutions turn a blind eye to the issue due to the fear of student protests, loss of reputation of their institution and legal tangle. The team should be representative in nature consisting of students from all backgrounds, grades, years, genders.

Visit www. Follow us on :. Some students manage to harass their juniors under the ritual of ragging even though the practice was banned by UGC almost a decade ago. However, there are some basic things that a college or a university can implement in order to prevent ragging from strengthening its root in the college. Ragging is banned in the country for almost a decade now. After the Aman Kachroo episode, the parents who had sent their wards to a professional college for achieving their desired goals are breathing under constant threat regarding the safety of their kids.

And this fear is certainly going to hamper the future prospects of the coming generation, the future of the country. Initially the ragging started in British era, in English colleges and universities but slowly it spread and corrupted almost entire Indian educational institutions. The excuse was to teach the social hierarchy in early career, and also learn other important values in life as if they were mature enough know anything about values and hierarchy.

Practice of familiarizing beginners with their seniors has now turned into a potent tool for ill-treating and punishing poor students if they fail to obey their seniors. Under the pretext of fun, a poor student is often assaulted, sometimes even stripped and intimidated by his seniors and this ritualized torture leaves an indelible impression on his mind.

The chilling incident continues to haunt him throughout his life, and he unknowingly develops various psychological disorders. So the trend goes on and students continue to suffer.

Those who surrender before their seniors are set free from the torment after going through a series of inhuman acts, but those who refuse to follow their diktats are subjected to barbaric and brutal treatment and are forced to urinate on high voltage heaters, take part in naked parades, shave off their moustaches and beards, and stand upside down on their heads etc.

The situation sometimes turns so bad that it compels the ragging victim to commit suicide. A section of students feel that light ragging should be allowed in educational institutions, while some are totally opposed to the idea and demand stricter punishment for those involved in it. A high-level committee in , which probed the death of Aman Kachroo, revealed that alcohol was the main reason leading to serious form of ragging and violence in the campus.

The custom of canning Ragging is indeed poorly-thought out. A report from highlights 42 instances of physical injury, and reports on ten deaths purportedly the result of ragging: Ragging has reportedly caused at least 30—31 deaths in the last 7 years.

In the session, approximately 7 ragging deaths have been reported. In addition, a number of freshmen were severely traumatised to the extent that they were admitted to mental institutions. Ragging in India commonly involves serious abuses and clear violations of human rights. Often media reports and others unearth that it goes on, in many institutions, in the infamous Abu Ghraib style and on innocent victims. In many colleges, ragging has been strictly banned and is proving effective.

However, this ban has not been the case elsewhere, as seen by the number of ragging cases still reported by the media. Ragging involves gross violations of basic human rights. The seniors are known to torture juniors and by this those seniors get some kind of sadistic pleasures. Though ragging has ruined the lives of many, resistance against it has grown up only recently.

Several Indian states have made legislatures banning ragging, and the Supreme Court of India has taken a strong stand to curb ragging. Ragging has been declared a criminal offence. There are some of the existing forms of the ragging observed in the universities and other institutions and they are as follows:. The verbal torture: Verbal torture involves including in loose talks.

The fresher men may be asked to sing the lyrics of any vulgar song or use abusive language while talking to the seniors. Dress code ragging: The fresher men asked to dress in a specific dress code for a particular period to time. The dress code ragging may make the fresher men fell awkward and uncomfortable as it often brings them unnecessary attention from everybody. Formal Introduction: This involves asking the fresh men to introduce themselves in different styles.

Sexual Abuse: This is severest form of ragging that takes place in universities. In many cases, the fresh men have been asked to strip before the seniors. Playing the fool: The fresher men may be asked to enact scenes from a particular movie or mimic a particular film state. In many cases, the seniors may also ask the fresher men to do silly things.

Hostel Ragging: Outstation students who stay in the hostel are most vulnerable to ragging. They may be asked to do all odd acts from cleaning the room of seniors to washing their clothes, from fetching them water or milk to completing their assignments.

Drug Abuse: This can be the worst form of ragging wherein the fresher men are forced to try drugs thereby driving them into addiction etc. Ragging has caught the attention of legislators, law enforcers, Courts and other sections of the society in the past decade due to the sharp increase in the number of incidents of ragging. Consequently, various committees had been established, recommendations formulated, regulations passed, guidelines directed and state laws have been enforced to curb the menace of ragging.

Some of the efforts in this direction are as follows :. Ragging as we all know, is social interaction between seniors and juniors in schools and colleges.