Under pressure from the student bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC) on Wednesday made it clear that the security guidelines for institutions which have a triggered a controversy are “suggestive” and not “mandatory” and that it was re-examining the vexed issue of setting up of police station on campus.
Students’ bodies and universities in different parts of the country are up-in-arms ever since the guidelines, including construction of walls at a certain height, barbed wires, installation of CCTV cameras and presence of police personnel within campuses, were released by the UGC in April this year.
The protesting students maintained that the guidelines will turn universities into jails and will promote moral policing by suggesting quarterly <g data-gr-id="16">parent teacher</g> meetings.
“The commission has deliberated on these guidelines before giving its approval and the directives are suggestive and not mandatory. The guidelines consolidate possible measures that can be taken by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to ensure their student," UGC said in a statement today.
The reference to setting up of police stations on campus for quick handling of <g data-gr-id="25">crisis</g> and preventing untoward incidents is also being "re-examined", it added. The commission said that the guidelines were framed after the tragedy in Himachal Pradesh, last year, when students, on an excursion, were washed away in the Beas river.
The UGC also maintained that it had involved senior academicians and had framed the guidelines after wide consultations with the academic institutions, parents, students and other stakeholders.