Bhubaneswar: As the new 2026-27 academic session begins this month, all state-run colleges and universities have been directed by the higher education department to review and reconstitute their statutory and institutional committees dealing with student safety, sexual harassment, ragging, grievances and mental-health support immediately.The directive comes after the department found that transfers, retirements, postings and other changes in workforce had left several committees and cells with outdated or incomplete memberships, potentially rendering some of them non-functional.The department, in a directive to all public higher education institutes, on Tuesday, has asked them to review the anti-ragging committees, squads and monitoring cells, besides the internal committee mandated under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013. The review will also cover students’ grievance redressal committees, student services centres and mental-health and counselling mechanisms. Universities have additionally been asked to ensure that the ombudsperson mechanism is in place wherever applicable under the UGC regulations.The department has instructed institutions to constitute any committee that has not yet been formed and reconstitute those whose chairpersons, convenors, nodal officers or members have been transferred, retired, relieved, resigned, proceeded on long leave or are otherwise unavailable immediately.The prescribed composition, quorum, tenure and representation, including women, students, SC/ST communities and external members wherever mandated, will have to be strictly maintained, it stated.“The reconstituted panels must be fully functional from the beginning of the new academic session this month, and capable of receiving and addressing complaints, grievances and student-support matters,” it said.The department said earlier instructions relating to complaint procedures, helplines, online complaint facilities, duty rosters, surprise inspections, counselling support, record maintenance and monitoring would continue to remain in force.Registrars, principals and heads of institutions have been given seven days from receipt of the order to complete the constitution or reconstitution process and, in any case, before regular academic activities for 2026-27 begin.
