University of Delhi: In a further development on the mental harassment case against the faculty members of the College of Vocational Studies, the two accused teachers have disapproved of any wrongdoings in their statements.
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The teachers, Mr Dhananjaya Singh and Mr Ashish Kumar Jha, have denied the allegations made by the students in a detailed assessment of the academic performance of the students who submitted the complaints to several authorities. They have, instead, asserted that they had helped the students during the academic years with study resources and refuted any claims of using derogatory language toward the student.
- No Complaints to the Authorities:
The teachers have claimed that the students did not send any complaints in verbal/written form whatsoever to the Head of the Department or to the Principal before accusing them of mental harassment. The students alleged that multiple students had dropped out of college because of the behavior posed by the teachers, while the teachers deny any such occurrence.
- Classroom Discipline:
The teachers have claimed the students misinterpreted emphasis on classroom discipline as a way of mental harassment. They had expelled the entry of any latecomer any later than 5-10 minutes and did not allow the use of mobile phones in the classroom. They have denied any use of derogatory language aimed at the students. The students accused the teachers of cancelling the lecture 5-10 minutes prior to the commencement time, but the HoD has denied these allegations citing the absence of any such complaints during the academic year, thus ‘making this claim a questionable statement.’
- Internal Assessments of the Students:
The teachers have held the students responsible for their marks in the Internal Assessments owing to their fairly low attendance records in the lectures and low marks in the internal exams. The students’ petition, also, claimed that a student had dropped out of college without completing his graduation because of alleged mental harassment by the teachers. The teachers have rebutted this accusation through his attendance records that demonstrate his presence in lectures at the highest of 3% per semester. They have also alleged the absence of those students in the internal exams.
- Providing study resources:
The teachers stand firmly on the grounds of providing every help to the students during the academic years and later. The student, who had filed the complaints, had arrears in a fifth-semester examination approached those teachers for study resources as an ex-student as well, and the teachers claim to have provided her with relevant study notes and practice questions papers.
Mr. Dhananjay Singh, Assistant Professor at College of Vocational Studies told us ‘Riya Kwatra was ex-student since May 2019 & she is currently having back in one of her core papers/subject (TOC). Meanwhile, She contacted me multiple times as an Ex-Student from May 2019-May 2020 on WhatsApp. She asked me for the notes of the TOC Paper & she also requested me to send Previous Year Question Papers & I supported her on every occasion. I mailed her Previous Year Question Papers of the same subject on 14/11/2019 as a responsible teacher for our Ex-Student. I strongly believe whosoever will see this WhatsApp chat, one can draw the conclusion that I supported her on every occasion.
Riya Kwatra was always in denial mode to write/take Internal Examinations (Class test & Presentation) when she was in Semester 5 & Semester 6 of the course & therefore I had to reschedule Internal Examination because of humanitarian grounds. Wasn’t it help to her from my side?? I believe Everyone agrees for the same.”
- Allegations of Influencing External Examiners:
The teachers have denied any claims of influencing the external examiners during the viva voce of the students, as asserted by those students. They have, instead, shed light on the ‘poor’ academic performances of those students and their ‘inability’ to answer the questions posed by the examiners.
All in all, the teachers and the HoD have denied all the claims made by the students in their petitions and complaints.
