Grievance Redressal Mechanism is very important to provide value to the stakeholders and to maintain peace, harmony, and quality of any Higher Education Institution. The College has a very transparent and efficient mechanism for Grievance Redressal. Grievances of Students, Teachers, and Non- Teaching Staff is addressed and amicable solutions are arrived at in a short span of seven days. The Grievance Redressal Cell is constituted by a Convenor and the representative members of committees like Examination Grievance Redressal, Ethics & Anti-ragging Committee, Internal Complaint Committee (ICC), and General Grievance Committee. There is an office for the Grievance Redressal Cell where the details of the committee members are stated and it also provides a space for the maintenance of the registers.
Convener: Dr.Whyni Gopi
Members:
The students can submit their grievances in the following ways:
Members:
This committee deals with grievances that are not under the purview of Examination, Ethics &Anti ragging, and Internal Complaint Committee. It includes grievances related to admission, amenities, transportation, hostels, academic (excluding exam-related) and non-academic programs, services available on the campus, timing, etc.
The members of the General Grievances Committee are in charge of opening the grievance/Suggestion boxes placed on the campus. The boxes are opened at the beginning of the month and the collected grievances are verified and a proper record of them is maintained. After the verification, complaints related to other committees are forwarded to the respective committee for its grievance redressal procedure.
Each committee within the Grievance Redressal Committee has its committee members and they have their own mechanism (as per UGC norms) in which the grievances are addressed. All the committees are to maintain their own records of the number of complaints registered and the measures taken to solve the issue. Any stakeholder who is not satisfied with the decision of the respective committee can approach the Principal and such issues are to be presented to the Grievance Committee in which a final solution arrives with the sanction of the principal.
General Grievances Redressal Mechanism
First Stage:
The student informs the mentor/ class teacher of her grievance which would be registered in the Department Grievance register. The grievance cell in the Department consists of HoD, a senior teacher, and the class teacher. Priority should be given to solving the issue within three days and it should be informed to the concerned student and properly recorded in the Department register. The Department registers should be countersigned by the principal at the end of each semester.
Second Stage:
If the student is not satisfied with the solution offered by the Department, she can forward the grievance to the principal who presents it to the Grievance Redressal Committee which through a meeting can arrive at a decision. The concerned student should be informed about the matter. The Grievance Redressal Committee should forward the report to the principal within 15 days after taking the action. A meeting of the stakeholders will be convened and the solutions for the grievances raised will be made known to them by the Committee members in an open forum.
Committee Members:
The Examination Grievance Redressal Committee is in charge of addressing the issues of both Internal and External examinations. The grievances related to the exam can be stated through a prescribed proforma available in the College Information Centre. The grievances also could be submitted online through the college website. The exam-related grievances collected from the boxes are submitted to the Examination Grievance Cell by the General Grievance Committee. These grievances are discussed in the Examination Grievance Redressal committee and a decision is arrived at. The report of which is submitted to the principal for its formal sanction. The concerned student has to be intimated about the decision within 15 days.
In the case of grievances related to internal examinations, grievances are addressed in three stages:
Stage 1:
Grievance reported to the Mentor/Class teacher- If the grievance could be resolved internally and the student’s issue is solved, then the procedure ends in this stage.
Stage 2:
In case the student is not satisfied with the redressal mechanism in Stage 1, then the matter is informed to the HoD and the Department Grievance Committee discusses and arrives at a solution. The grievance is recorded in the Department Grievance register and counter signed by the Principal. The concerned student is informed within five days.
Stage 3:
If the grievance remains unsolved in the Stage 2, the student can submit the grievance to the Principal who with the Examination Grievance Redressal Cell arrives at a solution. The report is submitted by the Examination Grievance Redressal Cell to the Principal for formal sanction. The student is informed within Five days.
Committee Members:
The Internal Complaint Committee addresses complaints related to sexual harassment within the campus. The student/teacher/non- teaching staff can report the issue to the concerned committee members herself or through her mentor or class teacher. The complaints can be also made at the Grievance Redressal Cell where the instructions and contact numbers of the concerned committee members are available. Such complaints are presented in the committee and a solution is met out with the formal sanction of the principal. The report on the grievance and its redressal is submitted to the principal and the concerned student/teacher/non-teaching staff is informed within 90 days. Records are maintained by the Committee.
Committee Members:
The Ethics & anti-ragging Committee functions in the college as per UGC regulations- “Curbing the menace of Ragging in Higher Educational Institutions (third amendment), Regulations, 2016.” The 3rd Amendment of UGC Regulations on “Curbing the menace of Ragging in Higher Educational Institutions, 2016”, ragging includes ‘any act of physical or mental abuse (including bullying and exclusion) targeted at another student (Fresher or otherwise) on the ground of colour, race, religion, caste, ethnicity, gender (including transgender), sexual orientation, appearance, nationality, regional origins, linguistic identity, place of birth, place of residence or economic background’.
The student can register the complaint through the website, deposit complaints in the grievance boxes, or inform the teachers or the Principal directly. The grievance will be presented in the committee and the final decision will be arrived at as per the guidelines of UGC. The report is submitted to the Principal and the students concerned are informed about the final decision.