Beyond CCTV

The removal of CCTV cameras at the Kelaniya University and the subsequent closure of the facility as well as legal action taken against students is an issue that has gathered much public attention. Authorities are concerned that the removal of the CCTV cameras was an attempt to maintain the impunity with which raggers have operated for years, perhaps even decades. But what is also evident from this standoff is that a multipronged approach is needed to protect students in campuses across the country.  

Incidents of ragging are frequently reported but even though the maximum penalty carries 10 years of rigorous imprisonment, ragging has remained a significant problem within local universities. In 2017, 15 Peradeniya University students were arrested for ragging while in 2016, 10 Kelaniya undergraduates were arrested after they forced a female first-year student to remove the jeans she was wearing and later slapped her when she defended her right to wear attire of her choosing.  Both instances garnered much publicity but a comprehensive effort to stamp out ragging at local universities has failed to materialise. As with other forms of illegal and reprehensible behaviour, actual convictions that happen consistently would be the best deterrent. Ragging has long been a political issues in Sri Lanka as well with raggers enjoying impunity both within and outside the universities. Breaking through this impunity could require more than just CCTV.

Sri Lanka in 1998 passed the Prohibition of Ragging and Other Forms of Violence in Educational Institutions Act, which carries hefty prison sentences, yet the country’s image remains tainted, with several world publications claiming that Sri Lankans practise the worst forms of ragging. It would be impossible for the Government to reform the higher education sector unless they tackle the issue of ragging and root it out of the system. 

Having first rejected ragging, the Inter-University Students’ Federation (IUSF) has defended it as a “subculture,” which is a gross and wholly inadequate reason to allow its continuance. Union activities, which are at their strongest in hostels, create the environment for ragging victims to suffer in silence. Students are also used to promote political ends and unfairly manipulated to disrupt the functions of universities. If organisations such as the IUSF want to be seen as genuine representatives of students, then they need to ban this horrific practice immediately.  Unions and academics have the responsibility to implement safeguards against the heinous practice. Universities need to employ counsellors in numbers large enough to cover the entire student body. Students who are unable to turn to lecturers or parents then have someone to talk to. Anti-ragging squads have helped protect new students in the past and should be consistently deployed. This would also improve engagement between senior and junior students and reduce power plays that are often an intrinsic part of ragging.  Officials of student unions need to educate their members on the physical and psychological negatives of ragging. Union members can report fellow students engaged in ragging and protect hostellers, who are often the worst-affected. Any student caught ragging should be immediately kicked out of the university and face criminal charges. Perhaps fines could be considered as well to deter damaging behaviour. Such tough measures to empower students are the only way to give victims the confidence to come forward. CCTV, while an important step, will only be a partial solution to a serious and longstanding problem.