Latest news with #ICCs
New Indian Express
6 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
No ICCs, no salary to staff: Cuttack administration tells HEIs
BHUBANESWAR: The Cuttack administration has decided to stop the salaries of all employees of colleges and higher secondary schools in the district till they submit the mandatory compliance reports on constitution of internal complaints committees (ICCs) under the POSH Act in their institutions. Principals of the colleges will also face suspension if they fail to ensure that the directive is followed. District collector Dattatraya Bhausaheb Shinde said the higher educational institutions have to ensure strict compliance of the government directive on ICCs and no delay will be tolerated in this regard. Following the self-immolation incident on the FM Autonomous College campus in Balasore on July 12, the Higher Education department had on July 15 directed all colleges and universities in the state to submit compliance reports on ICCs under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, or the POSH Act, within 24 hours. The institutions were also directed to publicly display the names and contact details of ICC members for students' awareness. Subsequently, the Cuttack administration had asked for the compliance reports from principals of aided, non-aided government degree colleges and higher secondary schools and also sought details on complaints of sexual harassment made by students of the institutions so far. However, till July 21, no institution except Mahanga Women's College had submitted the report or case details following which the collector directed the additional district magistrate (ADM) and sub-collectors to withhold salaries of employees of defaulting institutions. 'Appropriate action may be taken against the head of defaulting institutions by withholding the salary of the entire establishment of the defaulting offices,' the collector's directive read. In addition, college principals were warned of suspension if complete ICC reports were not submitted within 24 hours. ADM Shibo Toppo said they have written to the heads of the institutions for the second time since July 15 seeking the ICC constitution reports, case details and action taken on such cases. There are 70 degree colleges and 131 higher secondary schools in Cuttack district. Following the warning, Cuttack City College submitted its report to the administration. There are close to 1,057 degree colleges and 17 universities in the state and till last week, nearly 500 of them had submitted the ICC compliance reports.
Time of India
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Govt directs all depts to install boards on POSH Act
Bhubaneswar: State govt has directed all departments, district administrations and urban local bodies to prominently display boards listing the dos and don'ts under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. "This order needs to be considered as urgent and is part of the state's ongoing commitment to create a safe, inclusive and respectful work environment for women," read the letter issued by additional secretary of women and child development department, Jyotishankar Mohapatra, on Saturday. Mohapatra, while urging immediate compliance from all departments and institutes, further said, "It was observed that in many organisations the implementation of the POSH Act 2013 is not adequate. An important step in this direction is creating awareness among all personnel in workplaces and among students. It is imperative that sensitivity and knowledge about this Act is generated not only among girls and women but also among boys and men. " The draft IEC (information, education and communication) board enclosed with the letter mentioned acceptable and unacceptable behaviours in professional settings. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Villas For Sale in Dubai Might Surprise You Villas In Dubai | Search Ads Get Quote Undo It included key reminders such as respecting personal boundaries, speaking up against harassment and filing complaints through proper channels, including the internal complaints committee (ICC) or the central 'She-box' portal ( Offensive behaviour such as unwelcome physical contact, sexually suggestive jokes or messages, showing pornography and threatening job-related retaliation for denial of sexual favours are strictly prohibited. The govt also stressed that all ICCs across establishments must be registered on the 'She-box' portal. Authorities facing technical difficulties have been advised to contact a nodal officer of the department. The letter was issued to all additional chief secretaries, principal secretaries, commissioner-cum-secretaries, district magistrates and collectors, municipal commissioners and revenue development commissioners.
The Hindu
19-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Pinjra Tod rose and fell, but women students still seek complete freedom
Natasha Narwal is hard to reach. Those who were fellow student activists less than a decade ago have moved on to their careers and have lost touch with her. A well-known activist said Ms. Narwal could be contacted only on Signal, known to be a highly secure messaging app. She sent across her number on Signal but deleted it and said, 'I can't see a way to share her contact here. I will give you Natasha's roommate's number and she can put you in touch with her.' Eventually, the efforts to reach Natasha weren't successful. Natasha Narwal was in jail for more than a year a couple of years ago in connection with the CAA-NRC protests. And that possibly explains her media weariness. Natasha, however, cut her teeth in activism with a more everyday cause -- discriminatory practices in girls students hostels. Break the cage was a call to female hostel occupants, who faced the brunt of curfew timings, moral policing, and more. Natasha Narwal and her comrades also pushed for the implementation of UGC Regulations 2015 on prevention, prohibition and redressal of sexual harassment of women employees and students in higher educational institutions, issued on May, 2, 2016. As per these regulations, they demanded functional internal sexual harassment complaints committee cells (ICCs) with democratically elected student representatives. The movement also demanded infrastructure such as street lights and safe public transport around campus areas. They organised marches where hundreds of women turned up. A notable one was on October 3, 2016, in Delhi. The march began from LSR, through Kailash Colony, Amar Colony, and National Park — areas full of PGs in which a large number of women students from colleges such as Gargi, Kamla Nehru, Deen Dayal, and Deshbandhu lived. The idea behind the protests in Delhi colleges soon inspired similar campaigns elsewhere. In December 2016, women students of Sree Keralavarma College, Thrissur, Kerala, started an indefinite sit-in strike, outside the locked gates of their women's hostel, against the 4 p.m. curfew, forcing the administration to give an assurance that the timing would be extended. Women students had classes till 3.30 p.m., which meant that immediately after their classes were over, they had to rush to the hostel. This was also a hostel where women were not allowed to possess mobile phones. In January 2018, Pinjra Tod started an online petition that would be submitted to Union Minister of Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar, urging him to 'immediately remove patriarchal and unconstitutional curfew from all women's hostels'. At this point in time, the movement had made some headway with institutions like Mumbai University, BITS Pilani, and IIT-Roorkee that had done away with curfews. The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) issued notices to seven universities and colleges in December 2016 for discrimination in hostel timings for boys and girls. The move came after Pinjra Tod compiled a report on discriminatory rules and living circumstances in hostel accommodations and complained before the commission. In 2018, a group of Panjab University students protested for 48 days, demanding round-the-clock freedom of movement for female hostel residents. They rejected the university's initial proposal to allow limited late-night movement between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. with conditions like logging entries and submitting applications after 11 p.m. The university eventually agreed to allow unrestricted movement, with the only condition being that students exiting hostels after 11 p.m. must log their details in a register. Till date, it stays the same. The Pinjra Tod campaign did bring to the spotlight important issues even if its achievements were not commensurate with the high profile nature of the campaign. The social ideas that the campaign battled have shown resilience in the Indian education system. Today, we see technology behind leveraged to advance those impulses. For instance, biometric tools are being used to monitor and curb women's movement and physical and mental space.
New Indian Express
19-07-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Internal probe panels missing in several TN government colleges amid rise in harassment complaints across country
MADURAI: Amid increasing complaints of sexual harassment of women in workplaces and educational institutions across the country, at least 46 of the 180 government arts and science colleges in Tamil Nadu have failed to set up an 'Internal Complaints Committee (ICC)', which is mandatory under the POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace) Act of 2013. As per the law designed to protect women from sexual harassment, all workplaces, both public and private, must establish ICCs to address complaints and take steps to prevent sexual harassment of women. Of the 193 institutes (13 state-run universities and 180 government colleges) to which RTI queries were sent on the working of 'Vishaka Committees', only 80 colleges have sent their replies. Thirty-four colleges said they have ICC panels, but only nine of them shared details about these committees. None of the government universities responded to the RTI query. The state government, in September 2024, had directed all higher education institutions to ensure compliance with the POSH Act, and take proactive measures to tackle drug menace on campuses, but the RTI reply revealed that colleges have failed to comply with the order. When contacted by TNIE, P Shankar, Principal Secretary of Tamil Nadu Higher Education Department, said that it is mandatory to form ICC in educational institutions, and promised to take necessary steps to ensure compliance.
Time of India
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Govt seeks compliance from edu institutes on ICC
Bhubaneswar: In view of the self-immolation attempt by a 20-year-old student over alleged sexual harassment at a college in Balasore district on Saturday, state govt on Monday asked heads of all higher education institutes to submit compliance reports on instructions related to internal complaints committee (ICC) under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, within 24 hours. The higher education department, in an urgent letter, asked the colleges and universities to include appropriate representation of women members and external representatives in the committees. They were also instructed to follow UGC (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal of Sexual Harassment of Women Employees and Students in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2015. The department asked the institutes to display the name and contact number of all ICC members in a proper place for general awareness and upload their details in the higher education information management system (HIMS) portal. The govt also directed the institutes to immediately organise workshops on the Act for the sensitisation of students and faculty members. "You are further requested to ensure that a geo-tagged photograph of the location where the details of the ICC are displayed is uploaded to the link positively," wrote Rajata Kumar Mansingh, deputy director of higher education. The department earlier communicated to all colleges and universities about the constitution of ICC. Some colleges do not have ICCs, and some have not formed them as per UGC rules. University Grants Commission (UGC) has been issuing guidelines to all universities and colleges to set up ICCs and take necessary steps to prevent and redress sexual harassment on their campuses. UGC also asked all universities to set up special cells to deal with issues of gender-based violence and conduct gender sensitisation programmes. It suggested the institutes ensure a safe and healthy environment for women students and employees on their campuses as a necessary precondition to quality education and research. Last year, a student of a city-based university lodged a complaint against a faculty member for sexual harassment. The university investigated the matter and suspended the faculty member.
