CHENNAI: In order to clamp down rising campus violence and its spillover to the streets, the State Government has framed guidelines to control anti-social activities stemming from education institutions in the city.
The standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the Higher Education Department on November 14 have been circulated to all stakeholders, including colleges, universities, Metropolitan Transport Corporation, and the city police.
The Presidency College, Pachaiyappa’s College, Nandanam Government Arts College, New College, Dr Ambedkar Government Arts College and Sir Theagaraya College are the six institutions where recurring violence is being reported and the set of guidelines were aimed at streamlining the process of handling the students including those indulging in violence.
The salient features include setting up of a helpline for complaints in every college and redressing students’ grievances. As and when a complaint reaches, the staff concerned will report it to the principal and police for action. The colleges have been instructed to widely circulate the mobile numbers of principal, College Monitoring Flying Squad (CMFS), wardens and the helpline and display the same permanently on the notice boards. For students who do not prefer to make calls, an SMS facility was also mandated to process complaints.
The CMFS will gather intelligence/information regarding untoward incident, violence, anti-social elements, weapons, and undesirable objects. The same should be reported to the principal and also to the police. The CMFS will have to report developments on a daily basis.
College Supervision Committee chaired by Commissioner/Director of Collegiate Education will conduct a weekly review meeting on the action taken on complaints filed by principals, CMFS and by students through helpline. The committee will send a monthly report to the government on the progress made besides deliberating additional measures which could be put in place to curb violence.
Vice-Chancellor of Madras University will chair a committee which will meet on a monthly basis and review measures to curb ragging, footboard travelling, and anti-social activities on and off the campuses.
All the committees formed will have to coordinate with the police for proper action against erring students, faculty, staff or others. A senior police official in the city said that the anti-social elements are mostly the alumni of the colleges who were still trying to establish their supremacy over the bus routes and misleading the students who are in the college.