Dharamshala
College principal Rakesh Pathania said the institution will ensure student participation in grievance redressal committees and increase the frequency of orientation sessions to raise awareness about mental health and student well-being. “We have grievance redressal committees in place but we will make them more proactive and regular meetings will be held, besides ensuring regular sensitisation programs,” Pathania said.
The committee was formed on January 3, to probe the death of 19-year-old student. The panel, during its visit, held detailed discussions with college administration, teachers, students, the victim’s family, and police officials.
He added that parental involvement will also be strengthened through faculty members, enabling them to play a more active role in monitoring their wards’ progress. “We will also request the higher authorities to appoint more teachers so that our student-teacher ratio improves, easing the burden on teachers and creating an environment where teacher-student interaction increases. The college will look into all the recommendations of the UGC fact-finding committee and take appropriate steps along similar lines,” he added.
After the victim’s death on December 27, during treatment at a Ludhiana hospital, based on a complaint filed by her father, three students of the government college in Dharamshala were booked on charges of ragging while the teacher was booked for sexual harassment on January 1.
Notably, the medical board constituted at Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Tanda, to review the treatment and medical circumstances related to the victim’s death finally opined that the deceased had longstanding behavioural symptoms most likely a primary psychotic illness of ‘Schizophrenia Spectrum and Related Disorders,’ later superimposed with features of an encephalitis-like illness. The report further stated that it is unreasonable to consider the allegations made in the video recorded during the deceased’s illness credible, in the absence of any corroborative evidence other than the video.
The state committee probing the incident also found no evidence of ragging, use of casteist words or making indecent remarks.
Meanwhile, Himachal education minister, Rohit Thakur while speaking to HT said, “We will examine the recommendations and ensure they are implemented. We will ensure accountability and fix the responsibility of the authorities not just in this college but all colleges across the state are fixed.”
Director of higher education department, Dr Amarjeet Sharma, said they are yet to receive the recommendations while assuring, “We will definitely implement the recommendations in totality to ensure that students benefit in the future and such incidents do not take place.”