(Representative image) Following the death of a IIT-Bombay student, education experts are raising concerns about the inconsistencies in reported accounts
MUMBAI: As events at IIT Bombay ’s Powai campus have unfolded following the death by suicide of second-year student Sahil Wakode, educationists across the country say they have been disturbed not only by the tragedy, but also by what they describe as “several versions of the truth” emerging in its aftermath. Students are given a chance to present their case,” the director said. An IIT Bombay faculty member said caste had repeatedly entered the discourse following several campus tragedies, making already complex situations even more sensitive. “It is a sensitive issue, but this is a larger societal thread that an IIT alone cannot solve,” the faculty member said. “Our colleagues have told us that all laid-down protocols were followed, including informing the head of the department.
“At the same time, a faculty member, like a parent, may reprimand a student found breaking rules such as cheating. That by itself cannot be construed as a casteist slur. But there has been an imbalance in the way the situation has been handled. If student wellbeing is conflated with assessment and evaluation, how do we conduct a test?”
At IIT Kharagpur, director Prof Suman Chakraborty told students: “An exam measures what you wrote on one day. It does not measure who you are or what you will become. His message ended simply: “Trust your preparation. Breathe. Take one question at a time.”