UGC new guidelines on Sexual harassment
The UGC has notified the guidelines to be followed in all institutions of higher education.
Details:
- Institutions will have to set up an internal complaints committee, in which at least half the members are women.
- To ensure the committee’s autonomy, it has been laid down that no administrative official — like Vice-Chancellor or Registrar — will be its members.
Consequences:
- Consequences of non-compliance are serious.
- An institution could face withdrawal of declaration of fitness to receive grants under section l2 B of the UGC Act, 1956;
- Removal of its name from the list maintained by the Commission;
- withholding of allocated grant; and
- Being declared ineligible to be considered for special assistance programmes of the Commission.
- The regulations define sexual harassment in very exhaustive terms. It ranges from physical contact to verbal or non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature.
- They give women students, employees, interns and apprentices protection on the campus even from a visitor to the institution
Background:
- The regulations are based on the Saksham report that included inputs from open forums conducted throughout India after the MHRD formed a task force on the issue post the Delhi gang rape
- The Supreme Court, in the Vishakha judgment in 1997, mandated internal committees at workplaces to look into sexual harassment cases.
