New Delhi: A video has emerged of an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur professor calling students “bloody b*^#@$%!” during an online class, sending shockwaves in the IIT community. It also prompted students from the institute to call for the professor’s termination.
The video first emerged Sunday on the Facebook page of ‘IIT KGP confessions’. It started circulating on various social media platforms, later finding prominence in the alumni circles.
In the video, the professor — identified as Seema Singh from the department of humanities and social sciences — was seen calling the students of a preparatory class, “bloody b*^#@$%!”, for reasons not clearly known.
Preparatory class is a batch of students from the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes and persons with disability categories, who are unable to get direct admission to IIT through JEE Advanced. They are given one year of preparatory class at an IIT to qualify for a seat next year.
In the video, the professor also seemed to be threatening students that she would complain to their parents about their behaviour in class.
Speaking to ThePrint, a student who was attending the class said the teacher reacted this way because she thought that students did not stand up for the national anthem.
“The professor was screaming at everyone because she assumed that people did not stand at national anthem, even as everyone did. Even if people do not stand, this is no way to talk to students … one cannot address students as ‘b*^#@$%!’,” said the student who didn’t wish to be named.
ThePrint reached Singh via calls and texts for a comment but there was no response until the time of publishing this report.
The IIT Kharagpur administration has also not commented on the issue so far. ThePrint reached Director V.K. Tiwari via calls for a comment but there was no response until the time of publishing this report.
Sources at the institute told ThePrint that the director held a virtual meeting with the students to address their concerns.
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‘Discrimination against SC/ST students’
The student community of IIT Kharagpur shared the video on the Facebook page and released a statement saying the professor in the video “overreacts a lot in her classes” and “abuses the students and their parents by using words such as ‘Bloody [b*^#@$%!]’ during a class in session in an Institute of Eminence”.
“She says she cannot be touched and is above everybody, the Government, the Ministry, the Institute everything,” it said. “She is mentally torturing and abusing the students of prep courses who haven’t even started their college life yet and are still in a learning phase.”
The students also demanded that the “professor must be immediately terminated from service”.
The video has been shared on social media by many people, including sociologist Suryakant Waghmore.
“Pandemic times… that faculty needs to be sensitive to student needs is common sense. Instead the professor of English at IIT Kharagpur is calling students ‘bloody [b*^#@$%!]’ As a professor I apologise to all students and hang my head in shame,” he said.
Pandemic times… that faculty needs to be sensitive to student needs is common sense. Instead the professor of English at IIT Kharagpur is calling students ‘bloody bastards.’ As a professor I apologise to all students and hang my head in shame ??
— Suryakant Waghmore (@Suryakant_Waghm) April 26, 2021
Some others are calling it discrimination with students from the SC/ST community.
There is no discrimination in premier institutes? This is what happens in IITs. IIT Kharagpur Prof. Seema Singh openly abuses freshers enrolled in Preparatory English Course for SC/ST/PD students and challenges them to complain.
Will the government book her under PoA Act? pic.twitter.com/YvzOuxjmwm
— Azhar (@lonelyredcurl) April 26, 2021
“It is appalling to see a professor behave like this with her students during a class. I wonder whether this was just a one off incident or she regularly abuses students like this. This needs to be investigated,” said Dheeraj Singh, an IIT-KGP preparatory batch alumnus from Class 1998-99.
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Casteism is in built in to the fabric Indian Culture. I suppose that teacher is a Upper Caste Brahmin and they think it is their birth right to be of superior race.
To everyone siding with the teacher – you are a bigot and it’s clear from how entrenched you are in your caste when you say things like preparatory class students are no good
If the teacher abuses forward caste or say even Brahmins, would the same come into media? Would there be so much outrages?
F-the Anthem. If respect is demanded, you are a slave.
These preparatory classes are for those students who never deserved an IIT seat. One of my school classmate got through IIT Kharagpur by scoring way below cutoff and got through these preparatory classes. What a waste of seat – this reservation system has been our nemesis.
The professor needs counseling after getting admitted into an appropriate mental asylum.
She must have learned her English by watching sitcoms, Netflix web series i guess, must be thinking its very nice way to speak and makes her look cool.
The students who were admitted for a preparatory sessionof learning for a year for appearing for the next year admission revels that they are not capable of admitting for the courses this year. It is not expected that they will adopt GURUKULA education . At least they should be polite to the professor. instead as everywhere prevalent in the country that they are supreme and other caste persons are below them, they would have acted with the shield on their hands ‘SCHEDULED CASTE. she would have admonished them that she will inform their parents. If she inform their parents their act would be exposed sine they are having the shield on their hands, they acted in such a way that led to the comments by the professor. Do not expect that a professor will surrender to the scheduled caste studentsand get her salary every month.
You know nothing about this incidence to make all the assumptions you are making. But more importantly you are a bigot and it’s clear from how entrenched you are in caste.
Aditya Parmar tried to balance his viewpoint by seeing both sides. Maybe the students didn’t behave properly in her class, maybe professor too is going through bad times. In any case, there CAN’T be any excuse to be abusive because of your position of authority.
IMO, there should be independent enquiry, and 1 warning should be given to maintain the decorum of authority bestowed on the professors. If violated again, action must be taken according to procedures of IIT Rules.
PS: I am an 2013 Batch student of IIT KGP, and know the professor. Living in IIT, I saw that life of both students and professors is difficult.
Aditya Parmar should go back to school and attend a class on “Privilege” and “Empathy”
Aditya Parmar tried to balance his viewpoint by seeing both sides. Maybe the students didn’t behave properly in her class, maybe professor too is going through bad times. In any case, there CAN’T be any excuse to be abusive because of your position of authority.
IMO, there should be independent enquiry, and 1 warning should be given to maintain the decorum of authority bestowed on the professors. If violated again, action must be taken according to procedures of IIT Rules.
PS: I am an 2013 Batch student of IIT KGP, and know the professor. Living in IIT, I saw that life of both students and professors is difficult.
Headlines can be, IIT students didn’t stand for National Anthem leading to Professor allegedly abusing them.
But your news channel likely to instigate communal violence, bloody pseudo-secularism
Absolutely
Sensible comment by Aditya Parmar. Thank god we are not asking her to resign yet. We do not want cancel culture here. The institute should put an enquiry on her overreaction and find the best solution so this doesn’t happen again.
The preparatory classes are an absolute headache for any professor. Having taken such “classes”, I can vouch for the fact that the students are just not upto the mark.
However, this is no way to react. The Professor must apologize for her behaviour. If preparatory classes get on to her nerves, she should request the institute to change her class schedule.
You are assuming that the teachers have a choice in these matters.