Ragging should be banned

Ragging in our public universities has taken an alarming turn in recent times. The alleged assault on a female student in Kushtia Islamic University in the name of ragging has already made headlines. She has made serious allegations of being torture by a leader of the ruling party's student wing. Also, four female students of Jashore University of Science and Technology fell ill a few days ago after being harassed by senior students.

Ragging is not a new thing in Bangladesh. When a new batch of students arrives in a university, some senior students start making fun of them in the name of getting introduced to them. Instead of welcoming them cordially, the seniors start teaching them the so-called manners of the university, which is often called 'guest room culture' or ragging. Sometimes, they make the juniors sing and dance in public. This is quite humiliating and disturbing for the new students.

In many countries, ragging is a crime. There must be strict punishment for those who are involved in such activities. Ragging not only affects a person mentally but sometimes it can lead to physical harm. We urge the authorities concerned to stop the ragging culture from spreading. There is an urgent need to pay attention to ridding our educational institutions of this menace. We need to frame and implement rules and laws that can curb this immoral and unlawful practice.

Ashikujaman Syed,

Research Assistant,

Bioinformatics Research Lab,

Center for Research Innovation and Development (CRID),

syedashikujaman@yahoo.com