New Delhi, Nov 19 (UNI) The government today said information on ragging incidents in higher educational institutions was not being maintained centrally but a Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee had recorded 70 such cases in various parts of the country during the ongoing academic session 2007-08.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh said the apex court, in its interim order of May 16, had appointed the monitoring committee to oversee the compliance with its directions on curbing the menace of ragging.

The minister said in its interim order, it had also accepted several recommendations of the Committee for Prevention of Ragging, constituted by his ministry on the directions of the apex court.

Among the recommendations were introduction of junior students to their seniors only in the presence of faculty members, welcome parties to freshers by heads of institutions, orientation and joint sensitisation programmes and counselling of both freshers and seniors by a professional counsellor.

The committee had also suggested calendar of cultural and sporting activities to provide a common platform for freshers and seniors to interact with each other in the presence of faculty members.

Mr Singh said the Monitoring Committee had asked the University Grants Commission, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and other regulatory agencies to provide a constant feedback on the implementation of the court's directives for the prevention of ragging.

UNI