DHARAN, Dec 8: There is a Computed Radiography (CR) room for X-ray in the emergency ward of BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS). Usually, this room remains closed and is opened only if there is some problem with the CR machine.
On Friday morning, the students of Bachelor's of Science in Medical Imaging Technology (BMIT) flocked this room. While one group consisted of first-year students, another had second-year students. There were three female students from the new batch and one from the old batch and the rest were males. They had not gathered there for any discussion or program. Actually, the so-called senior students were going to try 'ragging' on the new students. Ragging, a serious problem of BPKIHS, has been deep-rooted in its tradition.
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The second-year students were torturing the newcomers in the name of teaching them discipline. All new male students had their heads shaved and were standing with their heads down as if they have committed some major crime. The senior students were also found checking if the new ones were wearing belts of the same color.
On the other hand, girls were being told to sing, dance and recite poems. "As instructed by the seniors, the new students were standing with their heads down and obediently following their seniors' orders," said Naresh Rai, one of the students who witnessed the incident, adding, "When I realized that the new students were being subjected to ragging, I tried to stop them but they refused to hear me."
However, this was not the first time junior students were 'tortured' at BPKIHS in the name of ragging, which has earned infamy for ragging recognition for this. In order to avoid the torture, some students choose to live in rented rooms instead of the hostel for months. "New students have to deal with a lot of mental stress and trauma due to ragging. But the teachers and students here have accepted ragging as a culture," said a former student of BPKIHS.
It is not that the administration is unaware of this ill-tradition but it has been unable to curb it. At the beginning of each academic year, the Institute forms an anti-ragging team but this has not been effective yet. Dr Ashok Ayer, vice spokesperson of BPKIHS, speculates that the members of the anti-ragging team may not have been able to file complaints out of concerns for their own safety. "Torturing students in the name of discipline is not acceptable. We have been keeping an eye on such activities by forming a team," claimed Ayer.
BPKIHS Dean Dr CB Jha informed Republica that action would be taken against the perpetrators if complaints are filed.
