Odisha Govt Orders Urgent POSH Sensitization in Colleges Following Balasore Incident

Bhubaneswar: In a swift and urgent response to the recent tragedy at FM Autonomous College, Balasore, the Odisha government has directed all higher education institutions to conduct sensitization workshops on sexual harassment laws for students and staff. The directive comes just days after a 20-year-old B.Ed student allegedly attempted self-immolation following accusations of harassment by a senior faculty member.

The Higher Education Department on Monday issued formal instructions to the registrars of all public and private universities and principals of government, aided, and unaided colleges across Odisha. The institutions have been asked to organize awareness sessions within three days to educate teaching and non-teaching staff, Internal Committee (IC) members, and students on the provisions of the POSH Act, 2013 and UGC Regulations, 2015.

As part of the workshop, all participants will be required to take a pledge affirming their commitment to uphold the legal and ethical standards outlined in the Act and the UGC norms. The aim is to reinforce the importance of creating a safe and respectful environment for women on campus.

To strengthen visibility and access to support systems, colleges and universities have also been instructed to display the Women Helpline number – 181 at key locations on their campuses. The government has shared a standardised design template for the display to ensure consistency.

This renewed push for enforcement follows earlier directives from the state to implement the POSH Act rigorously. However, the Balasore incident has prompted heightened scrutiny and a call for institutional accountability across the higher education sector.

The government has made it clear that non-compliance with the latest order will not be tolerated, emphasizing that educational institutions must play a central role in preventing harassment, protecting students, and promoting awareness about legal safeguards.