Raghvan panel favours incentives for delivering goods

NEW DELHI: Apart from recommending certain disincentives against ragging, the Raghavan Committee report submitted to the SC has suggested incentives for institutions that come up with a good track-record in tackling the menance of ragging.

“By way of incentives, the Centre, state governments, UGC and other funding bodies such as AICTE and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research etc should provide special/additional annual financial grants-in-aid to those universities and colleges which report a blemish-less record in terms of there being no incidents of ragging,” said the report chaired by the former CBI Director.

Secondly, the committee has recommended that these bodies should also institute another category of financial awards or incentives for colleges or universities which take stringent action against those responsible for incidents of ragging.

This would overcome the present problem of institutions covering up incidents for fear of adverse impact on their reputation, said the report.

The Committee has urged for expeditious implementation of JM Lyngdoh’s recommendations relating to the matter and suggested for a gap of one to two weeks between the date of joining of freshers and the resumption of classes for seniors.

This would enable the freshers to familiarise themselves with the campus environment and adjust to the sudden changeover from schools to higher education. It also recommended the popularistion of welcome parties and freshers day culture in the institutions.