POSH Compliance in Higher Educational Institutions: A Comprehensive Guide

Colleges and universities play a powerful role in sculpting the future of our society. While academic excellence remains their prime focus, educational institutions must also ensure that everyone in their campus feels safe, valued, and respected.

The POSH —short for Prevention of Sexual Harassment—Act of 2013 requires workplaces along with educational institutions to implement systems for both preventing and managing sexual harassment cases. Many institutions lack the awareness of the guidelines that they need to follow, depend upon the type of affiliation of their institution.

Through this blog post, we at Safe Spaces will guide you on how you can bring the POSH guidelines into action in your educational institution. Before we dive deeper, let’s first understand why POSH is applicable to educational institutions as well. Though these spaces are adobes of learning, they also serve as workplaces for women employees, making it crucial to ensure their safety and dignity.

UGC Guidelines:

University Grants Commission (UGC)– affiliated institutions must follow the UGC (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal of Sexual Harassment of Women Employees and Students in Higher Educational Institutions) Regulations, 2015. According to these regulations:

• Organizing regular workshops and orientation courses to include gender sensitization and sexual harassment for both staff and student is a mandate.
• Displaying the consequences of sexual harassment and the contact details of the ICC members on a notice board or easily visible public areas is mandatory.
• Ensuring a transparent, fair, and efficient Grievance Redressal Mechanism is in place to address the sexual harassment complaints promptly.
• Establishment of Internal Complaints Committees (ICCs) is mandatory. An ICC should consist of minimum four members.

Composition:

1. Presiding Officer: A female employee at a senior position from the institute.
2. Faculty Members: At least two faculty members committed to gender equality
3. Non-teaching staff: At least two faculty members committed to the cause of women
4. External Member: At least one member who is familiar with sexual harassment issues
5. Student Representative: Applicable if the matter involves students
6. At least 50% committee have to be women

Find the UGC POSH Regulations,2015 in Safe Spaces Free Resources section

AICTE Guidelines:

All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)– affiliated institutions must follow the AICTE POSH guidelines. According to these guidelines:

• Every technical institute must set up an Anti-sexual harassment cell. The composition of this Internal Complaints Committee should be as below:
• Sensitization Programs on gender equality, prevention of sexual harassment should be conducted for the stakeholders at regular intervals
• Strict disciplinary action like warnings, fines, suspension, termination or at times legal actions based on the gravity of the offence can be taken against the person found guilty.

Composition:

1. Presiding Officer: A female employee at a senior position from the institute.
2. Faculty Members: At least two faculty members committed to the cause of women
3. Non-teaching staff: At least two faculty members committed to the cause of women
4. External Member: At least one member who is familiar with sexual harassment issues
5. Student Representative: Three students (atleast one girl) form pre-final/final year at Undergraduate/Diploma level Institute- Applicable if the matter involves students
6. At least 50% committee have to be women

Find the ACITE POSH Regulations,2016 in Safe Spaces Free Resources section

Other Educational Institutes:

The educational institutes without specific affiliations must directly comply with the Sexual Harassment of Woman at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. According to these guidelines you should:

• Follow standard procedures for complaint filing and resolution
• Ensure annual report is submitted to the District Officer
• Display the POSH related policy
• Initiate awareness campaigns
• Implement interim measures during investigation periods

• Form Internal Complaints Committee. An ICC should consist of minimum four members.

Composition:

1. Presiding Officer: A female employee at a senior position from the institute
2. Two employee members
3. One external member associated with an NGO dedicated to women cause
4. At least 50% committee have to be women

For a detailed understanding, you can visit our blog : POSH Committee – What, When & Why

Find the POSH Act,2013 and POSH Rules in Safe Spaces Free Resources section

“MUST-DO” POSH Checklist For All Institutes

Here is a “Must-Do” checklist for all the institutions irrespective of their affiliations to implement POSH regulations effectively:

• Formulate a POSH policy that defines sexual harassment, complaint mechanism, ICC functions and the consequences of non-compliance.
• Broadcast the policy so that everyone knows about it. You can do it through the website, prospectus, notice boards and orientation programs.
• Establish an Internal Complaints Committee following the POSH Act and regulatory guidelines. Ensure the members are trained.
• Conduct regular sessions for the entire institute to create awareness regarding the POSH Act, and institution’s policy.
• Establish accessible and confidential ways to report cases along with protection against retaliation.
• Conduct timely, fair, and impartial investigations
• Offer counselling and support services to complainants.
• Take prompt action against those at fault.
• The ICC must submit annual reports to the institution and relevant authorities.
• Prominently display the POSH policy and ICC contact details.

Strengthen Your Institute’s POSH Compliance

Below are some common ways to assess and strengthen the implementation of POSH compliance in your institute.

• If unaware of which regulations apply to your institution, assess your institution’s affiliation and regulatory requirements. Take help of legal experts if necessary.
• If a committee is already formed, check its composition against the guidelines. See to that each committee member is aware of the investigation procedures, confidentiality requirements and documentations protocol. If not, provide them the proper training.
• Most of the times policies just exist on papers. Implementation is neglected. To tackle this, develop regular monitoring mechanisms and accountability measures. Have clear implementation protocols with designated responsibilities.
• If limited student involvement is observed, actively involve student representatives in awareness programs and create student-friendly reporting mechanism.

Regulatory bodies, the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) both aim to create a safer environment within a campus.

Applicable Scenarios

The Act and the regulation give a broad scope to the IC of the Higher Education Institute and would include the following cases where:

• A teacher sexually harasses another teacher
• A student sexually harasses a co-student
• Harassment of students by peers not from the limits of the HEI, like participants or attendees from outside the institution during events like college fest
• Sexual harassment of the student by the teacher, on account of the hierarchical relationship
• A student sexually harasses a teacher

Before concluding this post, we would like to share two sexual harassment cases, among the many, for you to understand how being POSH compliant and having an Internal Complaints Committee in place, and in action, in the educational institute can, not only help deliver justice to the complainant but also serve as a strong pillar of support and protection for all the members of the institution.

POSH Case Study Examples in Higher Eductional Institutes

According to NDTV, in 2016, a female research scholar working at TERI University (now TERI School of Advanced Studies, Delhi) accused Dr. R. K. Pachauri (the then DG of TERI) of sexual harassment. An Internal Complaints Committee formed, conducted a thorough investigation, and found Dr. Pachauri guilty of misconduct and violation of TERI’s policies. As a disciplinary measure, he was removed from the position of Director-General. Although he continued being associated with the institute in another role, he was eventually asked to leave the institute owing to widespread criticism and further legal challenges.

Here is another case where a female student filed a complaint against a male student alleging sexual harassment. The incident took place in 2019 at the Panjab University. (News source: Tribuneindia.com) The names of both, the complainant and the respondent were carefully kept confidential for obvious reasons. Incidents of inappropriate behaviour and unwelcome advances were detailed in the complaint. The University’s Internal Complaints Committee investigated the case and took strong disciplinary actions against the male student on finding him guilty.

Conclusion

Rules and Regulations are always there to aid us in creating a safe space. By adhering to these regulations, establishing the applicable committee, creating and raising awareness and addressing the complaints fairly and timely, while maintaining confidentiality, higher educational institutions can foster a culture of awareness, respect, and safety for one and all.

POSHitive Outlook

POSHitive, a mini-blog by Safe Spaces Inc., aims to simplify POSH compliance into easily digestible pieces.

Remember, creating Safe Spaces at work is not just a legal obligation but an ethical commitment to contribute to a positive and thriving work environment.

Join us on our journey towards building workplaces where everyone feels secure, respected, and empowered. After all, Safe Spaces are the foundation of a POSHitive future!

For further support on POSH Compliance, POSH Trainings, or Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) training, visit Safe Spaces Inc. or contact us at support@safespacesinc.in