Kolkata, Feb 01, 2025, IANS

Kolkata, Feb 1 (IANS) The University Grants Commission (UGC) has slapped a show-cause notice on Kolkata’s iconic Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education & Research, often popularly referred to as the S.S.K.M. Medical College & Hospital for failure to submit an "anti-ragging declaration" lists from their students and their guardians to it. However, S.S.K.M is not the only medical institute in the country which has been slapped with a show-cause notice by the UGC in the matter. A total of 18 medical institutes in the country have been slapped with similar notices by the commission. In the show-cause notice, the commission has also cautioned that any medical institute failing to give a satisfactory reply to the show-cause notice served on it might face appropriate action by the UGC in the matter. As per the Anti-Ragging Act of 2009, each education institute is required to get an undertaking from the new students as well as their guardians declaring about not getting involved in any sort of anti-ragging activities and those declarations are required to be made at a particular website of the commission. However, the commission has noticed that not a single person out of the 200 new entrants at S.S.K.M has submitted any declaration on the website in the matter. Therefore, it had sought an explanation from the authorities of the said institute in the matter. However, sources from the state Health Department said that this complication might have arisen because of some communication gap and they are hopeful it will be resolved soon. “In the case of medical colleges & hospitals, such anti-ragging undertakings are generally forwarded to the National Medical Commission. Now if the same needs to be forwarded to UGC as well, it will surely be done," a senior official of the Department said. The health sector in West Bengal has been recently in the negative headlines for several reasons. The recent cases of a ghastly rape and murder of a lady junior doctor of R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital Kolkata in August last year and the deaths of a woman and newborn at another medical college & hospital in West Midnapore district allegedly because of administration of expired Ringer’s Lactate are some of such unfortunate events.