The brazen attack on the Head of the Department of Journalism and Science Communication of Madurai Kamaraj University, S. Jenefa, in her office on Tuesday morning has highlighted the need for improving safety measures on the university premises.
Highlighting that the assailant, V. Jothimurugan (32), a former guest lecturer of the university, had carried a knife with him to attack Ms. Jenefa, a section of faculty members and students said that no person should be allowed to enter the premises with weapons.
The Chairperson of one of the Schools in the MKU highlighted that the entry to the campus, through the main gate and the gate near the guest house, remained unrestricted now.
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“No registers on who enters or leaves the campus are maintained. The identity cards of staff members and students are also not checked,” he said.
“With availability of computers and web cameras, capturing of images of visitors and issuing of temporary identity cards with details of their purpose of visit and whom they are to meet, are not such a difficult thing to do,” he added.
A senior woman faculty member said that though checking at the entrance should not be taken to the extent of thorough frisking of all visitors, a minimum check of the bags carried by visitors would be necessary.
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“The university administration should also consider installing scanners at the entrance to make these checks easier,” she said.
A former Registrar of the MKU said that if resources and manpower permitted, the university must also consider increasing deployment of security guards on the 400-plus-acre campus, with at least one person for every two or three buildings. He also stressed the need for installing CCTV cameras in key locations.
Acknowledging the need for improving safety measures, the head of a department, however, asked whether such precautionary measures would be of any help if the offender was a person associated with the university, as in the case Jothimurugan.
Speaking to The Hindu , Vice-Chancellor P.P. Chellathurai said that the university staff and students had always been reluctant to subject themselves even for checking identity cards at the entrance.
“However, I am sure that today’s incident must have made them realise the importance of such measures. We would use this situation to considerably improve security and safety features to the level of institutions like the IITs after receiving suggestions from various stakeholders,” he said.