6 days ago
Academics emphasise on robust grievance redressal in colleges
Bhubaneswar: Educationists and human rights activists on Saturday emphasised that a robust grievance redressal mechanism should be adopted by higher education institutions to prevent students from taking extreme steps.
They said this in view of the self-immolation by a girl student of a govt college in Balasore.
Human rights activist and lawyer Akhand stated that the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 exists and colleges should follow it in letter and spirit. "If the student files a complaint with the college authority about the harassment, the institution should follow the law," he added.
Jayant Kumar Mohapatra, former vice-chancellor of Berhampur University, said the govt should probe whether the college has formed an internal complaints committee ICC as per UGC regulations. "If the girl lodged a complaint with the principal, he/she should immediately hand over the complaint to ICC without any delay. The higher education department should review the grievance redressal mechanism and guide the colleges to make the system robust," he added.
Former regional director of education Mihir Ranjan Sethi said the complaint redressal mechanism of higher education institutions should be strengthened so that students and staff do not suffer.
