UGC instructs university vice chancellors to implement court ruling
View(s):The University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued a circular directing all university vice chancellors and heads of other state-run higher education institutions to take actions to comply with the recent Supreme Court determination on ragging in universities.
In its determination into a fundamental rights petition filed by a student at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura into an incident where the petitioner suffered serious injuries after being struck by a backhoe tyre during a social event to mark the end of the ‘ragging period’ for first-year undergraduates, the Supreme Court ordered all universities to implement the ‘Guidelines to Combat Ragging in Higher Educational Institutions,’ which had been drafted with the agreement of all stakeholders.
The Supreme Court directed all respondents, which included vice chancellors of universities, to ensure implementation of these guidelines and to report back to the court within six months from the date of the judgment on the measures taken to comply with its directions.
The Supreme Court had further ordered heads of all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to make by-laws in terms of Section
135(1)(d) of the Universities Act No. 16 of 1978 to give full effect to these guidelines.
The UGC’s circular notes that all HEIs are required to give “due consideration to the judgment in its entirety.” It also stresses that each HEI is legally bound to take actions assigned to it under the said orders of court and that any failure to comply will amount to contempt of court.
The circular has been issued following the UGC’s meeting held on September 17, where it had been decided bring the said judgment to the attention of all HEIs to direct them to take immediate steps to ensure full and strict compliance with the orders of court. (SJ)
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