Centre to review varsities' grievance redress mechanism

The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry is set to review functioning of the grievance redressal mechanism created at the central universities to deal with the complaints of discrimination by students belonging to disadvantaged and weaker sections of the society.

It has called a meeting of the vice-chancellors of all central universities later this month to discuss the issue of discrimination with students in campuses and find ways to effectively deal with such cases. The meeting, which is likely to be held on February 18, has been called ahead of the Budget Session of Parliament as the Opposition is expected to try to corner the government over Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula suicide case in the Central University of Hyderabad.

The government may have to face tougher questions from the parliamentarians on the steps taken by it to check discrimination in campuses, as the University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked all universities in 2012 to set up an equal opportunity cell in their campuses to check caste and community-based discrimination but hardly later checked for their implementation.

In a letter to all universities on January 29, the UGC asked the vice-chancellors to provide it with details within 15 days on how grievances of students belonging to marginalised and disadvantaged sections of the society were being addressed at the cells.