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Author :
Nisha Sharma |
The UGC set up a four-member team led by former IGNOU Vice Chancellor Nageshwar Rao to look into the case after another student from Nepal at KIIT died by suicide in May.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) gave a showcause notice to KIIT in Bhubaneswar on Monday. This happened after a UGC panel found that the university did not handle two sexual harassment complaints properly. The complaints were made by a student from Nepal who died by suicide in February.
The UGC had earlier formed a four-member team led by former IGNOU Vice Chancellor Nageshwar Rao to look into the issue. This was after another Nepalese student at KIIT also died by suicide in May.
The panel found that KIIT’s Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) did not follow the law while dealing with the harassment cases.
The committee’s report, submitted to the UGC in May, said there was no transparency and the university did not follow proper procedures during the investigation. The student had filed two sexual harassment complaints well before the tragic incident.
But both times, the university chose to settle the matter through illegal compromises instead of taking legal action.
According to the report, the university had the authority to punish the accused student when the first complaint was made but instead, they supported him and forced the girl into an unlawful settlement.
The committee said the suicide could have been prevented and held senior university officials and committee members responsible under criminal law.
In February, a student was found dead in her hostel room at KIIT which led to large protests. Police later arrested a third-year student in connection with her suicide. In May, another student from Nepal was also found dead in her hostel room.
After these incidents, the University Grants Commission (UGC) sent a showcause notice to KIIT. The notice said the cases raised serious concerns about the university’s mental health support, safety measures and how the administration responded.
The UGC said its fact-finding committee, formed in May, found major failures at KIIT that made the situation worse. The UGC has now asked the university to explain within seven days why it should not face disciplinary or legal action.
If the institute does not respond, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has warned that it will take strict action. This may include stopping the institute from expanding by not allowing it to start new courses, programmes or set up new campuses either in India or abroad for a certain period.
The UGC also said it might shut down certain courses, departments or even take away the institute’s status as a deemed-to-be university.
The committee found several other problems. It noted that the university did not have a proper mentoring system.
There was no proof of regular interaction between students and mentors, especially for first-year students who were living away from home for the first time. The committee also pointed out poor emergency management.
The university had no emergency drills, no staff assigned to handle emergencies and no mental health first responders.
Another major concern was overcrowding. The committee reported that the campus had over 30,000 students, but the infrastructure was not developed enough to support such a large number
