Mita Mukherjee

Students of Jadavpur University have agreed to the proposal of installing CCTV cameras at “strategic” points on the campus but on condition that the authorities will have to let them know about the locations.

Teachers, non-teaching staff and other stakeholders of the university have also made it clear that they are not opposed to the proposal.

The Jadavpur University authorities on Friday held a meeting with the stakeholders, including students and teachers to discuss the ways to beef up security on the campus in the wake of the death of a 17-year old student who fell from the second floor balcony of the university’s main hostel on August 9 after being ragged by some seniors and old students.

During the meeting the issue of how to stop the menace of ragging was discussed in detail.

A section of students had earlier said that they were opposed to installation of CCTV cameras and any other form of surveillance that would curb students’ free movement on the campus.

Most students and teachers who participated in the meeting on Friday, however, opposed the idea of hiring ex-servicemen for human surveillance.

Partha Pratim Roy, general secretary of Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association said their organization is opposed to the idea of appointing  ex-army men to handle the security of the institution. But they are of the opinion that a full-time officer should be appointed to monitor the overall security on the campus, particularly ragging problems during the night.

“ We have placed at least 16 proposals at the meeting to ensure security and to prevent ragging on the campus. We do not want the handling of the campus security by ex-army men as that would require huge funds. CCTV cameras should be installed at strategic points. We strongly propose to appoint a full-time officer at night and start a 24-hour helpline to enable students to report to the authorities immediately after they get ragged by seniors,” Roy told EducationWorld.

According to an official of the university the meeting was by and large peaceful. Students demanded that they would not allow the authorities to install the cameras unless the installation work was done without discussing with them about the exact locations where the authorities plan to install the cameras, the official said.

The university will ensure that the anti-ragging measures will be taken following the guidelines of the University Grants Commission. Since the authorities have failed to reach a consensus on where to install the cameras and whether it would hire ex-army men or not, a meeting will be held soon to finalise the decisions on these issues.

Also read: Bengal: Education department allocates 37 Lakh for Jadhavpur University CCTV cameras