BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to check incidents of sexual harassment, ragging and other crimes on campuses, the state government has decided to bring all higher educational institutions under the Higher Education department under the CCTV surveillance system.
Under the Shaktishree initiative, which was announced by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi last week in wake of the FM (Autonomous) College incident, the department has decided to mandate installation of CCTVs in all public colleges and universities to keep a closer watch and ensure a safe environment in the campuses. Modalities of the installation are currently being worked out.
A senior official of the department informed that principals of the institutions will soon be asked to identify the locations on campuses where installation of CCTVs is required. The principals will consult the internal complaints committee (ICC) members and Shaktishree Empowerment Cells to decide upon locations on the campuses. A central control room will be established in the department for monitoring purposes.
“The idea is to bring both frequented and less frequented areas in a college or university under CCTV surveillance to keep an eye on any untoward incident that is happening on campuses including cases of sexual harassment,” said the official.
Referring to the FM College incident where a 20-year-old student self-immolated protesting the college’s inaction on her sexual harassment complaint against her HoD on July 12, the official said the incident had reportedly taken place in the college field which was not under any CCTV coverage and neither was the principal’s chamber outside which the girl set herself afire.
“Such incidents have been taken extremely seriously. The principals will soon be asked to identify the locations, the number of CCTVs required, and given a month’s time to install the CCTVs. Modalities on how the cameras will be procured, footage storage, etc., will be ready soon,” he informed.
There are over 700 government-run and aided colleges and 17 public universities in the state. Currently, under the UGC’s anti-ragging guidelines, the campuses are mandated to install CCTVs in hostels and common areas.