Kolkata: In a bid to ensure the safety of students and campus security, IIT-Kharagpur has strengthened its rules regarding the movement of students within and outside the campus.
From now on, parents will be informed if their wards exit the campus between 10 pm and 6 am, and students exiting during those hours will have to record their name, roll number, hall with room number, parent or guardian contact number, place of visit, purpose of visit, and expected time of return, and will update the details on returning.
A notice circulated on Tuesday stated: "No student shall be permitted to leave the campus without their institute ID card. This is mandatory and non-negotiable... Non-compliance will be treated as serious violations and may result in disciplinary actions."
A student said: "The institute always had a policy for entering and exiting the campus in place, but it was not strictly followed. Previously, the regulated hours were from 11 pm to 5 am, but now it has changed to 10 pm to 6 am. What is new is that parents will be intimated if students exit the campus during those hours."
"The guideline stating that permissions from authorities need to be taken for leaving the campus, or staying overnight away from campus, or for an extended duration remained unchanged," said a research scholar.
Director Suman Chakraborty said: "The notice has been issued to ensure the security of students. When a student exits the campus with any purpose, we are not in a position to monitor them. But at the same time, whenever the student faces any trouble or accident outside the campus, we cannot shirk off our responsibility. It is a concern, and to have coordination, we need to have the basic details of their visit and also need to inform the parents."