UGC warns top institutes including AIIMS, IITs for failing to submit anti-ragging reports

In a major move to reinforce campus safety, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued show cause notices to 89 higher education institutions for failing to comply with mandatory anti-ragging regulations.

The list includes top-tier institutions such as IITs, IIMs, IIITs, AIIMS, and other institutes of national importance.

Among the prominent names are IIT Bombay, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Palakkad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Rohtak, IIM Tiruchirappalli, and AIIMS Raebareli.

Aligarh Muslim University, the Indian Statistical Institute Kolkata, and the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology (RGIPT), Basar, are also included.

Despite repeated advisories, follow-up calls, and interventions by the Anti-Ragging Monitoring Agency, these institutions failed to submit the required anti-ragging undertakings from students as well as compliance reports from their administrations.

"Failure to comply not only violates UGC guidelines but also compromises student safety, particularly in light of increasing concerns about ragging-related distress and campus hostility," the UGC said in a notice dated June 9, signed by Secretary Prof Manish R Joshi.

The UGC has directed all defaulting institutions to collect online undertakings from students and submit full compliance reports within 30 days.

The directive also asks institutions to provide a detailed report on the preventive measures taken to address ragging on campus.

The commission has warned that continued non-compliance "may result in regulatory action, including but not limited to withdrawal of UGC grants and funding, public disclosure of non-compliance, and consideration for de-recognition or withdrawal of affiliation."

Other institutions named in the notice include IGNOU, Bengaluru Central University, the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, and West Bengal University of Health Sciences, Kolkata.

The UGC stressed the urgency of the matter, saying, "Your prompt compliance will be essential in upholding institutional responsibility toward student welfare."