Kannur: A higher education whistleblower group has sought Governor Rajendra Arlekar’s intervention to create an independent committee in all universities to address alleged harassment and academic victimisation by faculty members across the state.
In a representation submitted by the Save University Campaign Committee, chairman R S Sasikumar urged the constitution of a “Rapid Action Committee against Harassment by Faculty” in all universities.
The demand comes against the backdrop of the recent death of a first-year BDS student, R L Nithin Raj, at Kannur Dental College, Ancharakandy, and a series of complaints raised by students against faculty members in the institution.
After Nithin’s death, the college had suspended Dr M K Ram, Head of the Department of Oral Pathology, and Dr K T Sangeetha Nambiar, a Reader in the same department. Several students have come out in the open now, accusing Dr Ram of body shaming them.
“Blacky, whitely, cockroach, fat, thin. One student was asked whether she was a cancer patient because she looked so thin. We had given all that in writing in our complaint against Dr Ram. We are not sure if the college filed the complaint,” said a student.
The Save University Campaign Committee’s letter also pointed to serious allegations made by the student’s family, including caste-based humiliation, colour-based insults, body shaming and continued harassment, both within and outside the campus.
Describing the incident as part of a larger pattern, the...
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