Experts have expressed concerns as the university authorities continue to mix criminal offences with administrative misconduct and refrain from taking strict legal action.
They blame the authorities for trivializing the ragging culture that involves physical assaults and bullying, leading to serious crimes like murders.
The experts say ragging should be considered a criminal offence when someone is injured, and the matter needs to be reported to the police station concerned for taking legal action.
According to the country's law, an offender will get 7 or 14 years in jail for causing injuries if an FIR is filed.
“The university authorities are giving impunity by suspending or expelling a student instead of taking legal action," said eminent jurist and constitutional expert Shahdeen Malik. They may not have a proper understanding of criminal laws.
As per the law, he said, a criminal case has to be filed within 15 days of the incident. Otherwise, it can be termed baseless.
“Criminal offences take place regularly in the universities, but the authorities waste time in the name of investigation. Thus, these criminal cases lose merit, and defence counsels argue that the allegations are baseless,” he added.
Several academics say it is unfortunate that ragging has long been identified as anti-social behaviour, which is not a crime as per the country's laws.
“Perhaps, our legislators and authorities concerned do not understand the severity of this serious problem and are not paying attention to it,” said Prof Nazrul Islam, former chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC).
He thinks effective measures against ragging will be an appropriate step. “Many countries, including India, have already enacted 'anti-ragging laws' to prevent ragging and promote peace in educational institutions.
“But in our country, there is no legal mechanism or any informal mechanism to prevent this menace in higher education institutions.”
He also observed that none of the university rules or regulations had any effective provision to prevent ragging or protect the victims of ragging or punish the perpetrators.
“Because of this, the victims find no way to formally complain to the authorities against the guilty party in the case of ragging,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
Prof Nazrul Islam suggested that the UGC formulate a policy and make it mandatory for both public and private universities to curb the menace.
The university apex body should also establish a toll-free anti-ragging helpline where students can seek protection immediately, he added.
UGC evades responsibility
The UGC puts the blame on the university authorities for their failure to ensure exemplary punishment in connection with the incidents of torture and intimidation.
UGC Member Prof Dr Muhammed Alamgir said: "The government appoints vice chancellors to conduct academic activities and stop ragging under their administrative task."
The UGC has also written to all universities to completely stop ragging, said the UGC member, who is a former VC of Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (Kuet). He suggested legal action upon investigation into each incident.