• FUTA’s Dr. Charudaththe Illangasinghe emphasises need for holistic approach, lecturer-student collaboration in resolving uni. ragging  

Ragging in universities should not be looked at as a solitary issue. It is interconnected with various aspects of society that exist within universities, and is an intricate matter. Therefore, efforts aimed at finding solutions to ragging should be based on concerns that come from within universities rather than an external mechanism that does not recognise those concerns and tries to see ragging as a singular, solitary issue.

This was noted by the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) Spokesperson Dr. Charudaththe Illangasinghe when inquired about Sri Lanka’s approaches to addressing the culture of ragging, especially within State universities. He spoke with The Daily Morning in a context where the Government has taken steps to establish a “National Anti-Ragging Committee”. Of this Committee, Higher Education State Minister Dr. Suren Raghavan said that it was a result of eight months of discussions that looked into the social, structural, political, and management-related aspects of ragging.

Dr. Illangasinghe shed some light on several practical realities that exist within universities, which he said should receive attention if Sri Lanka is to effectively deal with ragging. According to him, students’ concerns should receive more attention in these efforts, and collaborative efforts that involve students as well as teachers would be more fruitful.

The following are excerpts from the interview:

The Government has announced that it has taken measures to set up an Anti-Ragging Committee to deal with the issue in universities. What do you think about this initiative?

The Government comes up with various measures and committees from time to time in a bid to eradicate ragging. But we are of the opinion that the existing laws pertaining to ragging (the Prohibition of Ragging and Other Forms of Violence in Educational Institutions Act, No. 20 of 1998) are sufficient to take necessary measures, and that if those laws are enforced properly, no new plans would be necessary.

What is your opinion about taking action against the culture of ragging in universities?

In general, ragging is experienced mostly by first- and second-year university students. To guide new students during this period, university teachers have been given various positions, and every university makes such appointments. In addition, all university teachers are empowered to take action concerning discipline-related matters. During the ragging season, or when freshers come, teachers or student counsellors look into these matters, and even report the same to relevant parties such as the Vice Chancellors.

At times, that information is conveyed to the subject Minister. When that happens, what needs to be done is identifying the issue at hand and the perpetrators correctly, and taking legal action. We have absolutely no objection to proper legal action. However, we have observed – in the case of ragging in State universities – that the Government is using ragging-related information to oppress students’ activities in universities. We are very concerned about it, because instead of looking into genuine incidents of ragging, what they are doing is using these incidents to curb students’ activities, which is wrong. 

Speaking of student activism, there are allegations that anti-ragging efforts do not receive adequate cooperation from student unions. What do you think about this claim?

To the best of our knowledge, ragging is not carried out by student unions or groups that officially represent such unions. As established student associations, these unions are not involved in ragging. However, whenever some matter about ragging comes up – be it the university administration or political figures – allegations are levelled against student unions of supposedly carrying out ragging. 

Raggers could be individuals or small groups of students. Therefore, it is wrong to implicate entire entities such as student unions in ragging. That is why I think that proper legal action should be taken in a context where there is a legal background that facilitates such actions, and there are ways to obtain information about incidents of ragging.

Getting information about ragging incidents has remained a topic of discussion for some time. While some statistics are available, whether these statistics are indicative of the overall picture of ragging is a question that many ask. What do you think about the processes of collecting ragging-related data, and do you think that the existing systems should be improved?

There are various academic positions that are tasked with advising and guiding students. When freshers start their academic activities, university teachers who hold these positions are the ones that directly and most frequently deal with the new students. Within the existing system, teachers are appointed as student counsellors by the Government and are expected to work as police officers of some sort who investigate ragging. They cannot, however, follow students everywhere to collect information for the Government, one reason being that it is not their duty. For the most part, university teachers counsel students. However, it is wrong to expect them to act as some form of university police.

The university administration and the Government expect these teachers to get all the information that they can about students engaged in ragging. I do not think that it is a practical approach. University students are not children; they are adults who know what they are doing. No ragging takes place in the presence of university teachers, and there are ways to prevent getting caught. We know by experience that even the students that face ragging do not give proper statements in many situations.

This is not an issue that could be solved through a team that acts like the Police, or with teachers appointed to look into ragging in universities. This is a more serious issue. The entire society around it (ragging) needs to change. In fact, giving this responsibility to various groups unnecessarily is one of the reasons that have exacerbated the issue. On the one hand, teachers are expected to provide information about ragging and act as some kind of police force, while on the other hand, student activists or student unions are targeted in the process of eradicating ragging. These measures cannot help bring this issue to an end.

In your opinion, if the current approach is not the ideal one, what do you think we can do differently?

When it comes to taking action against raggers, the Government needs to decide on an approach, including whether to use security-related measures. When committees are appointed to look into such matters, what usually happens is that once the committee’s duties are fulfilled and the final report is issued, those efforts come to an end.

But that is not what should happen. Even committees should get information from within the university system such as from raggers, victims of ragging, student unions, and even students suspected to have been ragged. Information should also be obtained from university teachers.

We are of the opinion that if a committee is going to be appointed, information should be obtained from such parties, and it is based on such information that a suitable approach to eradicate ragging should be decided. Solutions have to be found from within the university system. We cannot do that through an approach which is based largely outside of universities and which aims to create a system to control various groups within universities. It will exacerbate this issue, instead of putting an end to it.