Hyderabad: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked universities to organise programmes on healthy sexuality and relationships while also confronting oppressive stereotypes to prevent sexual crimes against women on and off campus. Varsities have also been asked to monitor students’ movements through biometric attendance in classes as well as in hostels.
 
The guidelines were framed to prevent incidents like the Beas tragedy in which 24 engineering students from Hyderabad-based VNR Vignan Jyothi College of Engineering died in a mishap while on an industrial tour in Himachal Pradesh. Last year, a 23-year-old female student of the English and Foreign Languages University in Hyderabad was gangraped by her friends.
 
The UGC has said varsities must educate students about sexual violence and hold programmes about relationships and sexuality. “ Programmes can also be organised to confront the oppressive stereotypes that are the basis for the disrespect that leads to interpersonal violence,” UGC guidelines stated.
 
Osmania University UGC affairs Dean, Prof. A. Ravindranath said, “Some institutions have tight access regulation and that helps a lot. There should be mandatory orientation sessions for all freshers, educating them about safety. The UGC has given good guidelines, but they are not regulations. They are just guidelines. As long as people don’t feel and take the issues personally, they are hard to implement.”