Tougher Anti-Ragging Rules In Medical Colleges

To curb ragging incidents in medical institutes, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has released anti-ragging guidelines. Among other things, the new guidelines have expanded the definition of ragging and recommended the derecognition of a medical institution and reduction in admission capacity for failure to curb ragging incidents.

What Is It?

Psychological pressure, financial extortion or forceful expenditure, derogatory emails or any abuse on the grounds of religion, caste, colour, race, nationality, place of birth or sexual orientation of a fresher in a medical college will now come under ragging, reported Economic Times.

The regulations have been notified 12 years after the defunct Medical Council of India notified similar regulations for the country's medical institutions. The new regulations are more in sync with the current medical education system.

Every Centre To Have Anti-Ragging Squads

Under the new guidelines, every medical institution will appoint anti-ragging squads and committees. Every medical student and her guardian will give separate undertakings (on forms specified) at the time of admission that the student will not involve in ragging.

Further, freshers will be allotted faculty members as "mentors" who will handhold them through the first year and guide them, especially in case of an incident of ragging. Failure to curb such incidents can cause NMC can take actions, including derecognition of the institution, reduction of admission capacity or any exemplary punishment.

The medical college can take punitive action like withholding scholarship, suspension or rustication of an errant student, expulsion from the medical college and consequent debarring from admission to any other institution for a specified period, imposition of a fine between Rs 25,000 and Rs 1 lakh and cancellation of admission.

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