The University Grants Commission has asked all universities to set up a "students counselling system" to deal with all sorts of students problems

Updated on: Saturday, January 30, 2016

ugc The University Grants Commission has asked all universities to set up a "students counselling system" to deal with all sorts of problems that the students might face.

This order has come after the severe outrage over the Hyderabad University Dalit research scholar, Rohith Vemula's suicide, which triggered the HRD ministry's announcement of taking steps including sensitising administrations.

UGC Secretary, Jaspal Singh Sandhu put forward the following directives regarding the proposed student counselling system in a letter penned to university vice-chancellors:

1. According to the UGC guidelines regarding student safety, on which the universities had already been informed last year, setting up a "students counselling system" is "mandatory" in all institutions of higher education.

2. The system should address all common concerns of students, such as anxiety, stress, fear of failure, to homesickness and other academic troubles.

3. The system should involve students, teachers and parents, and should be target oriented and interactive.

4. The system should bridge communicative and formal gaps between the students and the institution.

5. The system may use services of a trained psychologist as and when required.

6. A batch of 25 college students will be allotted to each teacher counsellor trained to act as a guardian throughout the year. They will address their intellectual and emotional needs, and provide them with career guidance.

7. Teacher counsellors can collaborate with hostel wardens in order to get information on students regarding their personal details, behaviour patterns and academic records, for prompt preventative of corrective action.

8. Through two other letters, universities have been asked to observe Martyr's Day on January 30, and 'Matribhasha Diwas' on February 21, every year.

The University Grants Commission has asked all universities to set up a "students counselling system" to deal with all sorts of students problems

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