NEW DELHI: In the aftermath of the Beas tragedy where 24 students drowned, the government asked the UGC and AICTE to frame guidelines on ensuring students’ safety while on excursion or study trips.
Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani said in the Lok Sabha that the two regulators - University Grants Commission and the All India Council for Technical Education -- have been asked by the government to frame the guidelines.
“While there is absolutely no provision in the UGC Act or the AICTE Act with regard to the safety of students during study tours, we have, however, had a combined meeting of the AICTE and the UGC, which are submitting its recommendations to the Ministry vis-à-vis precautionary measures that institutions can take with regard to the safety of students,” Irani said.
Referring to similar accidents in the past three years, Irani said there were four incidents.
In May, a student went missing at NIT Kurukshetra after he had gone for a swim in a nearby canal. In February, the practice wall of the tennis court where some students were playing collapsed, killing a physically challenged student from NIT, Calicut.
In another incident, a student from NIT Suratkhal was drowned. In February, 2013, one student of IIT Mumbai drowned in the lake after unauthorizedly entering a restricted zone, Irani told the Lok Sabha.