There is a sense of vulnerability among girl students and women living and studying in the Goa University Campus which is spread over several acres of land on the Taleigao Plateau.
Some of the girls, who shared some scary campus incidents on condition of anonymity, are not feeling safe anymore. Over the last few months, certain incidents that have come to light do not augur well for Goa's education sector.
Several hostel women and girl students said no attention was paid to their complaints made to their respective wardens about the prevailing unsafe environment for women.
To add to the misery, Goa University does not have permanent hostel wardens, probably since its inception. Hostels are managed by lady faculties who are also saddled with their academic duties and as such can barely cater to the needs of the students.
Several hostel women and girl students said no attention was paid to their complaints made to their respective wardens about the prevailing unsafe environment for women.
Recently, a woman faculty member was threatened by intoxicated bikers on campus. There are others who have similar stories but they are scared to speak openly or file a complaint due to the absence of any support system.
Students, faculty and staff, who spoke on condition of anonymity, claim the CCTV coverage on the university campus is very poor. They said every day, especially during the late-evening hours, vehicles are seen parked on the internal roads of the campus. No one has any clue what goes on inside those parked cars, they added.
Many of the teaching staff have been witness to bike and car races on the main university thoroughfare that runs from Dona Paula to Bambolim. The police presence here is also very minimal, rued some of the teaching faculty.
According to sources, the campus security system is incompetent given the fact that majority of the guards on campus are untrained Nepali migrants who merely take up long-hour duties to support their families. This is a big risk to the safety of women on the GU campus.
Unlike most other government establishments that are manned by security personnel of the Goa Human Resource Development Corporation (GHRDC), it is a mystery why the varsity campus is still relying on private parties to manage its security.