Prime Highlights
- Installation of CCTV made compulsory in all institutions of higher learning by July 21 by Karnataka government.
- Aims to control ragging, drug abuse, and sexual harassment complaints on campuses.
Key Facts
- The directive is given to aided, private, and public universities, degree, and polytechnic colleges of the state.
- Institutions have to provide a compliance report on functional CCTV installations to the Department of Collegiate Education.
Key Background
In a big push towards more securely protecting students, the state’s Department of Higher Education has made it compulsory for all institutions of higher learning, government, private, or aided, to have operating CCTV watch systems. This is in a directive through a July 17, 2025, government circular, an extension of the earlier policy that was limited to engineering colleges.
The government has set a hard deadline of July 21 for its implementation. Institutions must be able to install and make CCTV cameras functional by submitting feedback to the Department of Collegiate Education. The program is intended to preclude large-scale issues on campuses such as ragging, drug addiction, sexual harassment, and overall indiscipline by creating an overt deterrent and increasing accountability.
Government authorities believe that widespread surveillance will serve preventive and punishing functions. Not only can the video help to crack cases, but the presence of CCTV cameras will be expected to promote discipline among employees and students. Authorities have emphasized the application of this mandate to make the environment safer and more secure in a learning environment, especially in urban colleges where such issues are more prevalent.
However, some institutions, particularly government-aided and underfunded colleges, may be burdened with challenges in compliance in the timeframe due to financial or infrastructural issues. While most institutions already have deficient CCTV systems, the current instruction calls for full coverage and assured operational status. Colleges are also being encouraged to supplement surveillance with educational campaigns such as awareness programs as well as student counseling to attend to the root cause of campus misconduct.
This requirement for CCTV is one aspect of the vision Karnataka has for the modernization of campus administration and keeping students’ security foremost using technology as well as policy enforcement.
