Kerala will launch an anonymous campus complaint app to report ragging and other student concerns Kerala will launch a mobile application allowing students to anonymously report ragging and other campus-related issues, alongside a plan to establish 300 science centres across the state to promote scientific temper among young people. According to PTI, Chief Minister V D Satheesan is scheduled to launch both initiatives at Government Women's College in Thiruvananthapuram on November 4. The event, scheduled for 11:30 am, will also mark the inauguration of the first sub-centre of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Scientific Temper. Higher Education Minister Roji M John will preside over the programme, which will also be attended by Transport Minister C P John, according to an official statement. The Siddharth Student Welfare App is being developed as a confidential platform through which students can report ragging and other problems in educational institutions without disclosing their identities. The application will allow students to submit audio complaints anonymously and alert the concerned authorities about safety-related issues on campuses. The app has been named after J S Sidharthan, a 20-year-old veterinary student from Nedumangad who allegedly died by suicide in February 2024 following ragging by fellow students at the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Pookode, in Wayanad. Alongside the mobile application, the state government is considering a draft of the Siddharth Anti-Ragging Act. The proposed legislation aims to provide a legal framework for the initiative and facilitate the formation of a state-level anti-ragging commission, the minister said. The proposed measures are part of the government's broader efforts to strengthen student welfare and address concerns relating to safety in higher education institutions. Separately, the science awareness initiative, spearheaded by the Kerala State Higher Education Council, aims to reach 15 lakh young people through 300 centres across the state. The programme seeks to encourage scientific temper, humanism and inquiry-based thinking among students and the wider public. It will include online courses, handbooks and video reels on scientific temper. An online course developed in association with the Centre for Development of Imaging Technology (C-DIT) will also be launched as part of the initiative. The state government will additionally release a Student Aspiration Survey to understand the expectations and aspirations of students in the higher education sector. The initiatives are intended to promote scientific thinking, improve student welfare and make higher education institutions more student-friendly and progressive. Lakshima Sareen is a Senior Copy Editor with the Digital Education Desk at Times Now, specialising in education news, exam updates, and policy reporti... View More