Odisha asks colleges, varsities to form panel for addressing sexual harassment complaints

Bhubaneswar, Sep 24 (IANS) The Higher Education Department of Odisha has directed all the private and government universities and colleges to constitute an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) to address sexual harassment complaints.

In its letter to the registrars of all the universities and deemed universities, and principals of the degree colleges on Monday, the department noted that all the Higher Educational Institutions (HEI) must provide a safe and secure environment for their employees and students under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.

"To meet the statutory obligations under this Act, each institution is required to constitute an lCC as per section 4 of the above Act. The ICC is crucial for addressing grievances related to sexual harassment and fostering a positive and respectful workplace," the letter read.

The educational Institutions have been asked to set up the ICC immediately and send a compliance report to the Higher Education Department by September 30.

As per the instructions of the University Grants Commission (UGC), the Executive Authority of the higher educational institution should nominate a senior woman faculty member of the educational institution not below a Professor in case of a varsity, and not below an Associate Professor or Reader in case of a college as the presiding officer of the ICC.

Two faculty members and two non-teaching employees, having experience in social work or legal knowledge should also be nominated to the ICC by the Executive Authority. The committee should also comprise three student nominees.

The UGC has also instructed that at least one-half of the total members of the ICC in any educational institution shall be women.

Notably, a senior faculty member of the Applied and Analytical Economics department of Utkal University was suspended after a female student levelled sexual harassment allegations against him in August.

Similarly, a woman faculty of Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology, Burla in Sambalpur has recently accused one of her senior colleagues of sexual harassment.

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