Are Internal Complaints Committees in education institutions serving their purpose?

Are Internal Complaints Committees in education institutions serving their purpose?

To know if the universities had submitted their reports, Coimbatore-based CAPA president NR Ravishankar sought nine types of information from nine universities through the RTI petitions.

Published: 20th September 2021 01:29 AM |

EXPRESS ILLUSTRATION

By N Dhamotharan

Express News Service

COIMBATORE: The Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) set up in higher education institutions to investigate complaints of sexual harassment from students and staff are not functioning properly, an RTI activist has alleged.

On September 5, 2020, the State government sent a circular to all universities seeking details about the functioning of ICC constituted under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act 2013. The consolidated compliance report was to be submitted to the Social Welfare and Nutritious Meal Programme Department which would then send it to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). The Commission had asked for the report for research purposes.

To know if the universities had submitted their reports, Coimbatore-based Consumer Awareness and Protection Association (CAPA) president NR Ravishankar sought nine types of information from nine universities through the RTI petitions.

He told TNIE, "First, I sought to know the date of receipt of the circular. Anna University replied it did not receive the circular, while the University of Madras, Madurai Kamaraj University, Tamil University, Thiruvalluvar University, and Dr Ambedkar Law University did not reply. Only Manomaniam Sundaranar University, Bharathidasan University and Bharathiar University replied saying that they received the circular on September 07, 2020."

He said, except Bharathidasan University, the eight other universities had not submitted the consolidated compliance report to the Social Welfare and Nutritious Meal Programme Department. Further university registrars, who are also public information officers, refused to give information on the complaints taken from affected women, action taken on them, the number of rooms allotted to teaching faculty, details of the CCTV camera fitted in each room of the faculty of each department, the list of ICC committee members, the number of complaints received from girl students and copies of minutes and agenda of ICC meetings.

To his query on the complaints received, he said, Anna University had replied that it had received two complaints in the academic year 2017-18 and 12 complaints in 2018 -19.

Manomaniam Sundaranar University had got eight complaints. To the query on CCTVs, Dr Ambedkar Law University said it had not fitted the CCTVs, he said.

"The replies from the universities indicate that the ICCs are not functioning effectively, leaving girl students and woman staff without safety. Hence, the chief minister should ensure their safety in higher education institutions by following norms strictly," he said.

He also urged the State Information Commissioner to take stringent action on the public information officers who fail and refuse to provide the correct details to those who need information through RTI Act.

K Ramya (name changed), a PhD scholar at a university, told TNIE, "In 2019, a faculty member sexually harassed a student. When we took up the issue with the complaints committee, its members refused to take the complaint from the affected student. After we protested, a complaint was accepted. However, the members had been delaying inquiry and action. In fact, they tortured her mentally leading to her discontinuing her studies. She even tried to end her life. After a big protest, the committee finally suspended the faculty member." She alleged the committee in the university was functioning for a namesake.

Professor C Pichandy, former president of the Association of University Teachers (AUT), told TNIE, "The government should see the functioning of ICCs as a serious issue. Not only in higher education institutions, but the committees also are not working properly in private and government offices too. Crimes and sexual harassment of women can be prevented only if the committees functioned transparently. For that, Tamil Nadu State Commission for Women must ensure the functioning of the committee in all places."

Higher Education Secretary D Karthikeyan said that he would look into this issue.

Backdoor entry in colleges should stop, lakhs of students work hard to get admission: Delhi HC

Backdoor entry in colleges should stop, lakhs of students work hard to get admission: Delhi HC

According to the Supreme Court's direction, admissions in all government and private medical colleges in the country have to be done through the centralised counselling system on the basis of NEET examination results.

Ritesh K Srivastava

@ritesh_ks

Updated:  Sep 19, 2021, 16:26 PM IST  Source:  PTI

New Delhi: Lakhs of students in the country work hard and toil to secure admissions in educational institutions on the basis of merit and it is high time that backdoor entries there, including medical colleges, should stop, the Delhi High Court has said.

The high court's observation came while dismissing an appeal by five students who were granted admission in 2016 by L N Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Bhopal, without their undergoing the centralised counselling conducted by the Department of Medical Education (DME).

However, according to the Supreme Court's direction, admissions in all government and private medical colleges in the country have to be done through the centralised counselling system on the basis of NEET examination results.

Consequently, the Medical Council of India (MCI) issued letters of discharge regarding the five petitioners in April 2017 and thereafter, several more communications were sent but neither the students nor the medical college paid any heed to them.

The college continued to treat the petitioners as their students and allowed them to attend the course, appear in the examinations and get promoted. Eventually, the five petitioners filed a petition seeking quashing of the discharge communications issued by the MCI and for direction that they be permitted to continue their studies in the medical college as regular medical students, which was dismissed by the single judge.

They filed an appeal challenging the single judge's order. However, a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh also dismissed the appeal saying there is no merit in it. "It is high time that such backdoor entries in educational institutions, including medical colleges, should stop. Lakhs of students all over the country work hard and toil to secure admissions to educational institutions on the basis of their merit," the bench said in its order on September 9.

"To permit any backdoor entry to any educational institution would be grossly unfair to those who are denied admission, despite being more meritorious, on account of the seats being taken and blocked by such backdoor entrants,’’ it said. It further added that the petitioners have only themselves to blame for the mess that they find themselves in.

"Had they acted in terms of the discharge letter of April 26, 2017, they would have saved four years of their lives. But they did not and acted recklessly. Despite not having any interim orders in their favour in their writ petition, they continued to attend the course, obviously, at their own peril,’’ the court said.

Advocate T Singhdev, representing the MCI, said despite discharge of the petitioners by the MCI, as early as on April 26, 2017, the same was not acted upon either by the college or by the students and they continued to ignore it even after repeated communications.

He further said that there was no interim order obtained by the petitioners from the court and despite that they continued to take admissions in subsequent years and undertake examinations at the college which was done at their own peril and they cannot claim equity in their favour.

Singhdev said the petitioners did not undergo the centralised counselling and they were well aware from day one that their admissions in the college were irregular and illegal, being in the teeth of the judgement of the Supreme Court.

The counsel for the petitioners contended that they ranked higher in the NEET examination than even those who were granted admission through the central counselling conducted by the DME in relation to this medical college and, therefore, they should be shown leniency.

The court said it is for this reason that if the medical college had informed the vacancy position the DME on time, the DME would have conducted further counselling and sent names on merit on the basis of the NEET examination conducted in 2016. "It is quite possible that the names of other candidates, more meritorious than the five petitioners, may have been sent,’’ the bench said.

"Since the respondent medical college does not appear to have informed the DME of the vacancy position, and they proceeded to grant admissions to the five petitioners much before the close of the date of admission on October 7, 2016, the other meritorious students, obviously, remained unaware that they could stake a claim against a seat in the respondent medical college on the basis of their merit. Thus, to say that no other meritorious candidate has shown up, is neither here nor there,’’ it added.

Court slams culture of ‘backdoor entry’, says it insults meritorious students

Court slams culture of ‘backdoor entry’, says it insults meritorious students

5 medical students were barred from continuing their studies as they were issued letters of discharge four years ago as they did not undergo the centralised counselling conducted by the Department of Medical Education (DME), but neither them nor the college paid any heed to it.

Written by Shankhyaneel Sarkar | 

Edited by Poulomi Ghosh, 

Hindustan Times, New Delhi

UPDATED ON SEP 19, 2021 04:57 PM IST

The Delhi high court observed that it is necessary to stop the practice of backdoor entries in all categories of educational institutions. The court said this practice demeans millions of students across the nation who work hard and toil to secure admissions on the basis of merit.

“It is high time that such backdoor entries in educational institutions, including medical colleges, should stop. Lakhs of students all over the country work hard and toil to secure admissions to educational institutions on the basis of their merit,” a bench headed by Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Jasmeet Singh said.

The observation made by the court came while it dismissed an appeal by five students who were granted admission in 2016 by Bhopal's LN Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, but did not undergo the centralised counselling conducted by the Department of Medical Education (DME), which is a prerequisite set by the Supreme Court for admissions in all government and private medical colleges. The counselling is done on the basis of the NEET examination results.

The Medical Council of India (MCI) sent several letters of discharge to the students and the medical college but neither party paid any attention to them. Instead of discharging the students, the college treated the petitioners as students and allowed them to attend the course, sit for exams and also get promoted.

The students filed a petition seeking quashing of the discharge communications issued by the MCI and for a direction that they be permitted to continue their studies in the medical college as regular medical students. The petition was dismissed by a single judge which was challenged by the students. It was later quashed again by the Delhi high court when a bench led by justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh observed that the appeal lacked merit.

“To permit any backdoor entry to any educational institution would be grossly unfair to those who are denied admission, despite being more meritorious, on account of the seats being taken and blocked by such backdoor entrants,” the bench observed. The bench also said the petitioners are responsible for the mess they find themselves in. The court said that if the students would have paid heed to the letter and acted according to the discharge instructions in April 2017 then they could have saved four years of their lives. “They did not, and acted recklessly. Despite not having any interim orders in their favour in their writ petition, they continued to attend the course – obviously, at their own peril,” it said.

The MCI counsel T Singhdev said that no party paid heed to the warnings despite the authority issuing discharge letters as early as April 2017. He said that they continued to ignore it even after repeated communications. He also highlighted that the petitioners did not obtain any interim order from the court and continued to take admissions in subsequent years.

Singhdev said that they took examinations in the college at their own peril. He said that the petitioners were aware that their admission to the college was ‘irregular and illegal, being in the teeth of the judgement of the Supreme Court.’

The counsel for the petitioners requested that some leniency be given to them and contended that they ranked higher in the NEET examination than even those who were granted admission through the central counselling conducted by the DME in relation to the medical college.

The court said that if the medical college informed the DME on time regarding the vacant positions, the body would then have conducted further counselling and sent names on merit on the basis of the NEET examination conducted in 2016. “It is quite possible that the names of other candidates, more meritorious than the five petitioners, may have been sent,” the court said.

(with inputs from PTI)

Backdoor entry in colleges should stop, lakhs of students work hard to get admission: HC

Backdoor entry in colleges should stop, lakhs of students work hard to get admission: HC

PTI | Sep 19, 2021, 03.14 PM IST

NEW DELHI: Lakhs of students in the country work hard and toil to secure admissions in educational institutions on the basis of merit and it is high time that backdoor entries there, including medical colleges, should stop, the Delhi High Court has said.

The high court's observation came while dismissing an appeal by five students who were granted admission in 2016 by L N Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, Bhopal, without their undergoing the centralised counselling conducted by the Department of Medical Education (DME).

However, according to the Supreme Court's direction, admissions in all government and private medical colleges in the country have to be done through the centralised counselling system on the basis of NEET examination result.

Consequently, the Medical Council of India (MCI) issued letters of discharge regarding the five petitioners in April 2017 and thereafter, several more communications were sent but neither the students nor the medical college paid any heed to them.

The college continued to treat the petitioners as their students and allowed them to attend the course, appear in the examinations and get promoted.

Eventually, the five petitioners filed a petition seeking quashing of the discharge communications issued by the MCI and for the direction that they are permitted to continue their studies in the medical college as regular medical students, which was dismissed by the single judge.

They filed an appeal challenging the single judge's order. However, a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh also dismissed the appeal saying there is no merit in it.

"It is high time that such backdoor entries in educational institutions, including medical colleges, should stop. Lakhs of students all over the country work hard and toil to secure admissions to educational institutions on the basis of their merit," the bench said in its order on September 9.

"To permit any backdoor entry to any educational institution would be grossly unfair to those who are denied admission, despite being more meritorious, on account of the seats being taken and blocked by such backdoor entrants,” it said.

It further added that the petitioners have only themselves to blame for the mess that they find themselves in.

"Had they acted in terms of the discharge letter of April 26, 2017, they would have saved four years of their lives. But they did not and acted recklessly. Despite not having any interim orders in their favour in their writ petition, they continued to attend the course – obviously, at their own peril,” the court said.

Advocate T Singhdev, representing the MCI, said despite discharge of the petitioners by the MCI, as early as on April 26, 2017, the same was not acted upon either by the college or by the students and they continued to ignore it even after repeated communications.

He further said that there was no interim order obtained by the petitioners from the court and despite that they continued to take admissions in subsequent years and undertake examinations at the college which was done at their own peril and they cannot claim equity in their favour.

Singhdev said the petitioners did not undergo the centralised counselling and they were well aware from day one that their admissions in the college were irregular and illegal, being in the teeth of the judgement of the Supreme Court.

The counsel for the petitioners contended that they ranked higher in the NEET examination than even those who were granted admission through the central counselling conducted by the DME in relation to this medical college and, therefore, they should be shown leniency.

The court said it is for this reason that if the medical college had informed the vacancy position to the DME on time, the DME would have conducted further counselling and sent names on merit on the basis of the NEET examination conducted in 2016.

"It is quite possible that the names of other candidates, more meritorious than the five petitioners, may have been sent,” the bench said.

"Since the respondent, medical college does not appear to have informed the DME of the vacancy position, and they proceeded to grant admissions to the five petitioners much before the close of the date of admission on October 7, 2016, the other meritorious students, obviously, remained unaware that they could stake a claim against a seat in the respondent medical college on the basis of their merit. Thus, to say that no other meritorious candidate has shown up, is neither here nor there,” it added.

‘If not declared void at 18, minor marriage valid’

‘If not declared void at 18, minor marriage valid’

Ajay.Sura@timesgroup.com

Chandigarh:20.09.2021

The Punjab and Haryana high court ruled that a girl married off before the age of 18 can seek separation only through a decree of divorce if she did not declare the marriage void on attaining the age of majority.

The division bench of Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Arun Monga issued the order while setting aside a Ludhiana family court's refusal to grant divorce by mutual consent to a couple who had got married when the wife was a minor. The family court had ruled that the couple’s marriage wasn't valid in the first place as the wife was younger than18 at the time of nuptials.

“Since the respondent wife was 17 years, 6 months and 8 days old at the time of marriage, and for all intents and purposes no petition was filed for declaration of her marriage as void by the wife, the petition for divorce under Section13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, should have been allowed,” the high court said.

After recording the statements of both parties, the bench granted them divorce by mutual consent.

The couple from Ludhiana had got married on February 27, 2009 — the man was around 23 at the time. The couple jointly filed a petition for dissolution of their marriage before the Ludhiana family court last year. While dismissing the plea, the family court cited Section 5(iii) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, which requires the bride to be18 or above for the union to be considered legally valid.

A petition for nullity under Section 13 (2)(iv) could be filed if the girl had got married at the age of 15, and she then filed a petition for dissolution of marriage before turning 18. In this case, since the girl was just over 17 years old at the time of the wedding, and she did not file a petition to get her marriage declared void on attaining the age of majority, the plea for dissolution by mutual consent should have been allowed by the family court, the high court held.

The family court had ruled that the couple’s marriage wasn’t valid in the first place as the wife was younger than 18 at the time of nuptials

150 acres of Tiruvarur temple land encroached

150 acres of Tiruvarur temple land encroached

Thanjavur:  20.09.2021

About 150 acres of land belonging to Bhaktavatsala Perumal Temple at Thirukkannamangai in Tiruvarur district may have been encroached, according to the deputy superintending epigraphist of Archaeological Survey of India, K Panneerselvam. His observation is based on inscriptions in the copper plate of the temple which has been found to be in the safe custody of the joint commissioner of HR and CE department in Thanjavur. The ASI official was conducting a survey of various temples on the direction of the Madras high court which had heard a public interest litigation petition stating that the copper plate containing details of donation of land was missing from the temple. Panneerselvam said he had found it inscribed in the copper plate that King Vijayaragunatha Nayak donated 400 acres of land to the temple in 1608. He said he will submit a report quantifying the land donated by the king for daily temple pujas, the extent of land available with the temple now and with the encroachers to the HR & CE department for further action. TNN

500m stretch at Kelambakkam turns OMR traffic bottleneck

500m stretch at Kelambakkam turns OMR traffic bottleneck

Yogesh.Kabirdoss@timesgroup.com

Chennai:20.09.2021

Offices and educational institutions along OMR are resuming work and traffic snarls have begun paralysing Kelambakkam again.

A stretch of OMR that is barely 500m long and passes through the busy Kelambakkam market area continues to be a bottleneck for road users as the six-lane IT Corridor (Rajiv Gandhi Expressway) narrows down at this junction, leading to vehicles getting piled up for long distances in both directions during peak hours. Now, as a temporary solution, the authorities plan to throw open a portion of an unfinished bypass at Padur on OMR soon to divert traffic.

Two-wheelers encroaching upon the carriageway on either side of the road further shrink the motorable space, leading to traffic moving at a snail's pace. The lifeline linking the city with Thiruporur, the junction records a huge movement of vehicles including buses belonging to MTC, private colleges and companies. According to sources in the Tamil Nadu Road Development Company (TNRDC), which laid OMR and maintains it, the stretch on an average records a daily movement of 60,000 vehicles. Of these, two-wheelers and cars account for about 35,000 and the rest are MTC buses, buses of private colleges and institutions and heavy vehicles.

Unless something is done fats, regular road users say, the traffic situation could worsen into that prevalent during pre-Covid times when vehicles are clogged during office hours in the morning and evenings. “Once all the IT sector employees return to their offices, it would lead to acute traffic snarls. The problem is only on the 500 metre stretch,” said S Dillibabu, an auto rickshaw driver said.

The laying of a bypass linking Padur near Kelambakkam and Kalavakkkam around Thiruporur, which commenced five years ago, is stuck in issues of land acquisition, with only three km of the 13-km-long road completed. Kuppan, a resident of Padur, said work on the bypass been completed within the scheduled time, Kelambakkam would not have suffered due to traffic. “The deserted road is used by a few for illegal bike racing,” he said. Pieces of broken liquor bottles can be found at one end of the completed portion.

When contacted, official sources in the TNRDC said that a portion of the 13-km bypass would be thrown open for traffic in a week. “This three kilometre portion of the bypass road linking Padur with Kelambakkam-Kovalam Road will reduce the traffic burden at Kelambakkam Junction as 25% of the vehicles can be diverted,” the official said.

BUMPER TO BUMPER: Traffic snarl along Old Mahabalipuram Road