The Kerala government on Wednesday, November 4, launched the Siddharth Student Welfare App, a confidential platform that lets students report ragging and other campus problems and seek help without revealing their identity, Jagran Josh reported, citing PTI. Users can record audio complaints anonymously and alert the authorities concerned about safety-related issues.

Source: Jagran Josh (PTI)

Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan launched the app and the accompanying science initiative at Government Women's College in Thiruvananthapuram, with Higher Education Minister Roji M. John presiding over the event, APAC News Network reported. Transport Minister C.P. John was also scheduled to attend, according to Jagran Josh.

Source: APAC News Network

The app is named after J.S. Sidharthan, a 20-year-old veterinary student from Nedumangad who allegedly died by suicide in February 2024 after being ragged by fellow students at the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at Pookode in Wayanad, both reports said. The allegation of ragging in that case remains as reported by the outlets; Awaaz Punjab labels it as an allegation.

Alongside the app, the state will establish 300 centres to promote scientific temper, humanism and inquiry-based thinking among students and the wider public, spearheaded by the Kerala State Higher Education Council. The programme includes online courses on scientific temper developed with the Centre for Development of Imaging Technology (C-DIT), handbooks and video reels, and the Chief Minister inaugurated the first sub-centre of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Scientific Temper at the event.

Higher Education Minister Roji M. John said a draft of the Siddharth Anti-Ragging Act is under consideration, which would provide a legal framework for the initiative and help form a state anti-ragging commission. The government will also release a Student Aspiration Survey aimed at understanding the expectations and aspirations of students in the higher education sector, the reports said.