President Writes to Governors Asking Them to Help in Eliminating Ragging From Educational Institutions

The President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil has written to all Governors and Lt. Governors asking them to help in eliminating the menace of ragging from educational institutions in their states and Union Territories.

In her letter, the President has said that the repeated incidents of ragging of the past few months in educational institutions indicates that "the perverse practice of ragging has not only become rampant in our educational institutions but acquired hideous proportions costing the sanity and life of some of the students. What is more worrisome is the persistent spread of this scourge both across a range of educational institutions as also across the length and breadth of our country".

The President has also said, "Such disorderly, aggressive, and inhuman conduct on the part of senior students inflicting physical cruelty and mental torment on the freshers has outraged society at large". The President in her letter has gone on to say that in the very recent past, she had publicly urged everyone concerned to join hands in eliminating this practice. She has asked the Governors and Lt. Governors to use their knowledge, wisdom and experience in galvanizing society to wipe out the, what she has termed as an "unseemly blot" from our educational sector.

Further in her letter, the President has noted that the Supreme Court has already taken a strong stand on this issue and rules and regulations to prevent ragging including laws have already been enacted at different levels or are in the process of being enacted. She has asked the Governors and Lt. Governors to consider whether such legislation, if it does not exist in their states and Union Territories, could be brought in. The President has also asked the Governors and Lt. Governors to see if there are gaps or inadequacies in the regulatory structure so that a credible architecture of legal deterrence can be built.

The President has further said in her letter that while it is the primary responsibility of the management of educational institutions and the teachers to prevent ragging, "it would make eminent sense if parents and guardians are mobilized to counsel their wards to behave more responsibly and be supportive in their dealings with their juniors". The President has also said that the cooperation of NGOs active in this field would be helpful in creating a climate of awareness against ragging and in alleviating the trauma of victims.

The President has finally said, "As the new academic calendar is about to commence soon, time has come when all the stakeholders in the realm of education and civil society need to seriously ponder and put their act together to prevent the menace of ragging. Your sagacious counsel and guidance to all stakeholders will go a long way in furthering this cause".

The release issued at 1230 hrs