The state’s technology university has asked students to directly communicate with the vice-chancellor’s office to share their “problems, concerns and grievances”.
A notice was issued on December 4 following complaints that college authorities did not do enough to address students’ concerns and grievances that included bullying and ragging, an official of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology said.
At least 100 colleges are affiliated to the university.
At times, unresolved matters propel students to take drastic steps like quitting the institute, vice-chancellor Saikat Maitra said.
The first such session was held in the first week of December when the VC’s office received more than 100 calls in two hours, some of which were about bullying and peer pressure, Maitra said.
“During the interaction we realised that a slight proactive approach by college authorities can make a difference. But this is found lacking,” he said.
The university had found that college authorities did not deal with complaints of bullying, ragging or peer pressure on campus seriously, Maitra said when asked about the immediate trigger behind the university’s move.
“Either they deal with the complaint mechanically or don’t accord any importance to it. This insincere approach leads to students taking drastic steps like quitting the institute. We want to help these students in distress,” he said.
Another official said the university had received many complaints of classes being held irregularly and some students finding their chosen streams difficult. “We have asked the colleges what they have to say about the allegations of classes being irregular. Our peer team has counselled students who are unhappy with their chosen stream.”
The university has received calls from students suffering from anxiety and depression for not getting jobs during campus placements, the official said.
“There is a job scarcity all over. Final-year students are depressed. They can directly approach the VC’s office to share their problems,” VC Maitra said. “We will try to help them. In recent years, several IIT students have committed suicide for failing to cope with stress.”
Partha Pratim Pal, the university registrar, has given a mobile phone number in the notice on which students can speak to the VC’s core team.
The team members will hear out the student and if needed will let him/her speak to the VC.
Colleges make their apathy clear when it comes to dealing with the complaints of ragging or bullying fearing they might bring disrepute to the institutions, a university official said. “But this does more harm than good. This way students are pushed to the brink,” he said.
Last year, NIT Durgapur director Anupam Basu had warned graduating students in September that they were about to enter an uncertain world amid “turbulence and challenges in the economy, the job scene”.