KOLKATA: IIT Kharagpur on Monday announced
graded fines
for students found drinking alcohol on campus – Rs 5,000 for the first offence and Rs 10,000 for a repeat, with parents being informed in both cases. If a student is found guilty more than twice, the case will be referred to a
disciplinary committee
, which will recommend “appropriate punishment”, and a minimum penalty of Rs 50,000, according to a notice.
Authorities have also warned students about unseemly
under-the-influence behaviour
off campus, with steeper fines. Students who engage in a brawl with outsiders will be fined Rs 25,000 by the
dean of student affairs
for a first-time offence. The student’s parents will also have to meet the dean and submit a declaration that such violations will not recur.
Sources said this was the first time the country’s oldest IIT had introduced such fines for drinking on campus and for inappropriate drunken behaviour off it. Even though drinking and using drugs on campus had always been an offence, before this, students were only warned of disciplinary action.
Neighbourhood households have also complained about students drinking off campus and throwing bottles at houses. Several students were sceptical of the fine and found the amount “absurd”, saying drinking on campus and hostel halls was common at all higher educational institutes, including at
IITs
.
(With inputs from Sujay Khanra)
