UGC asks Universities to Strengthen Anti-Ragging Measures Ahead of 2025-26 Academic Session

The UGC has called for strengthened monitoring measures, urging all Regulatory Councils and Monitoring Agencies to streamline anti-ragging compliance checks. This includes enhancing surprise inspections and ensuring strict enforcement of preventive policies within educational institutions. 

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued a directive to universities and Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) to reinforce compliance with anti-ragging regulations as the 2025-26 academic session approaches. In a letter dated May 27, 2025, UGC Secretary Prof. Manish R. Joshi emphasized the need for a safe and conducive learning environment, reiterating the commission’s commitment to eliminating ragging in educational institutions across India.

The directive comes a year after the UGC’s 2024 notification, which mandated robust anti-ragging mechanisms, including the implementation of a Mentor-Mentee system, the appointment of legal counsel for ragging-related cases, institutional accountability, and surprise compliance checks. Building on these measures, the UGC is now conducting a structured review to ensure their effective implementation.

Prof. Joshi’s letter, titled Strengthening Compliance with UGC Anti-Ragging Regulations and Monitoring Mechanisms, outlines three key action points for HEIs and regulatory bodies. First, institutions are required to submit detailed compliance reports by June 1, 2025, to the email raggingce110yahoo.in. These reports must highlight efforts to prevent ragging, such as awareness campaigns, disciplinary actions, and proactive student engagement initiatives. “We are committed to ensuring that every student feels safe on campus. These reports will help us assess the ground reality and address any gaps,” Prof. Joshi stated in the letter.

Second, the UGC has called for strengthened monitoring measures, urging all Regulatory Councils and Monitoring Agencies to streamline anti-ragging compliance checks. This includes enhancing surprise inspections and ensuring strict enforcement of preventive policies within educational institutions. The move follows a January 2025 directive from the UGC, which instructed the Anti-Ragging Monitoring Agency to conduct nationwide surprise checks to ensure adherence to anti-ragging regulations.

Third, the UGC is fostering inter-council coordination by inviting bodies like the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), National Medical Commission (NMC), Indian Nursing Council (INC), and other relevant organizations to collaborate on compliance reviews and institutional inspections. A meeting to coordinate further action is scheduled to be announced soon, signaling a unified approach to tackling the issue of ragging.

The UGC’s renewed focus on anti-ragging measures comes in the wake of its 2009 regulations, which introduced the Mentor-Mentee system to foster better relationships between senior and junior students, as noted in a web result from iftmuniversity.ac.in. Additionally, the UGC has emphasized that ragging remains a criminal offense, and any violation of its regulations will be dealt with seriously, a stance reinforced by a January 2025 India Today report highlighting stricter accountability for institutional heads in extreme ragging or suicide cases.

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