Stop the ragging monster

Ragging must come to an end. There can be no doubt about the sheer heinousness and despicability of the act and it must be stamped out. The latest instance of a first-year student of the Sri Jayawardenepura University being in critical condition after being hit by a tyre is simply devastating, even more so when one considers that it could have been prevented. There have been too many deaths, too many suicides and too many deserving students victimised by this system.  

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 and just earlier this month a group of students were arrested for removing CCTV cameras that were installed at the same institution to protect students from ragging.  

These incidents attract 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 issue in Sri Lanka as well, with raggers enjoying impunity both within and outside universities. 

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.  

The Government, the Higher Education Ministry, 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 will 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. No more students should be sacrificed to the ragging monster. Any Government which takes decisive steps in this regard will have the full support of the public.