Close on the heels of the furore over the recent suicide of a student at the Nehru College of Engineering and Research Centre, Thrissur, the A.P. J. Abdul Kalam Technological University has decided to appoint an ombudsman for grievance reddressal for all colleges affiliated to the university.
The decision to appoint an ombudsman was taken by the university’s Board of Governors on Wednesday. Vice Chancellor Kuncheria Isaac told The Hindu that the appointment of an ombudsman is in keeping with the AICTE (Establishment of Mechanism for Grievance Redressal) Regulations, 2012.
As per the regulations a person who has been a judge not below the rank of a district judge or a retired professor having not less than 10 years of teaching experience can be appointed for this part-time job for a term of three years.
The appointment has to be made from a panel of names suggested by a search committee to be appointed for the purpose. The ombudsman shall have the power to hear any grievance “of any student against the university or institution affiliated to it or an institute, as the case may be, after the student has availed of remedies available in such institution for redressal of grievance; and of any applicant for admission as student to such institution,” the regulations note.
Registry must
The regulations mandate that each technical institution establish a registry, headed by an employee of the institute of appropriate rank as the ombudsman may decide, where an aggrieved student or person may make an application seeking redressal of grievance. The address of the registry so established is to be widely published including on the institution’s notice board and prospectus and also placed on the website of the institution.
“The Ombudsman shall ensure disposal of every application within one month of receipt for speedy redress of grievance. The Technical institution shall be expected to co-operate with the Ombudsman in redress of grievances and failure to do so may be reported by the Ombudsman to AICTE,” the regulations read.
In case any institution that ‘wilfully contravenes’ or ‘repeatedly fails to comply with the orders of the ombudsman, the AICTE may initiate a range of actions that include withdrawal of approval for the institution, a recommendation to the affiliating university to withdraw such affiliation, withdrawal of declaration of fitness to receive grants from the Council and withholding of grants allowed to the institution.
