Gandhinagar: The alumni of Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar have issued a statement highlighting college’s exclusionary measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, which, they say, would further marginalise students who don’t come from privileged backgrounds.
According to the statement, the college has demanded students to pay a “flat quarantine charge” of Rs 4,000 if they want to seek quarantine facilities on the campus. The amount, students say, is exclusive of hostel, mess, laundry and other charges. According to the college administration, the amount being charged will be used for the “welfare of workers” on campus. While students say that worker’s welfare is necessary, they also believe that “it need not come at the cost of students’ welfare”.
“Penalising students in this way clearly discriminates against marginalised students. In other words, the administration seems to be suggesting that only those who can afford to pay the penalty could enjoy the privilege of mobility; it seems to not care about the rest,” reads the statement.
Secondly, the college is withholding PhD and postgraduate students’ monthly stipends which “they rightfully earn through teaching assistantships and other work,” students say.
According to the statement, PhD and PG students who couldn’t attend their respective orientations for not meeting the attendance requirement, were asked to sign up for extra courses as penalty. The college asked the students to take up two courses from an e-learning platform, costing Rs 2,000 each, and asked the students to submit the completion documents after finishing the course. According to the statement, the college “threatened” to withhold their monthly stipend if they failed to submit those documents. In addition, the statement points out that the attendance requirement was not communicated with the students beforehand.
“We see these as steps toward making the campus more inaccessible for students from marginalised sections, while creating a hostile environment more generally. While official narratives claim that the Institute is, and is working towards, enhancing accessibility, this is far from true. And these new and bizarre mandates certainly do not help us move in that direction. By continuously imposing monetary penalties, directly and indirectly, the administration is openly intimidating students, and making learning less conducive,” says the statement.
Keeping these issues in mind, the alumni has decided to not contribute to any of the institution’s funds until the administration withdraws the above two penalties. They have also urged the prospective donors to keep in mind the college’s “exclusionary measures” before donating.
The full statement has been reproduced below.
IITGN alumni statement on exclusionary measures and penalisations on campus
We, the undersigned alumni of IIT Gandhinagar, want to express our concern at some recent developments at the Institute, which we find exclusionary and unwarranted.
In the context of Covid-19, students who have to seek quarantine facilities on campus have been asked to pay Rs. 4000, as a “flat quarantine charge.” Note that this is over and above current hostel, mess, laundry, and other charges. Covid-19 and continuing regulations have affected students in various ways, and, unquestionably, students from marginalized communities have been affected the most.
Questions of access—to space, privacy, computers, the internet, and so on—have been crucial in this situation. While many of them expect the campus to be a safe and hospitable environment which facilitates learning, extorting money—from students wanting to return—sends out inappropriate signals, to say the very least.
While the Students Affairs office acknowledges that the time spent in quarantine can be “stressful,” demanding payments from students who are already struggling makes things worse. The Institute has said that the money received from students in this way will be used for the welfare of workers on campus. While workers’ welfare is necessary, and desirable, it need not come at the cost of students’ welfare. Penalising students in this way clearly discriminates against marginalized students. In other words, the Administration seems to be suggesting that only those who can afford to pay the penalty could enjoy the privilege of mobility; it seems to not care about the rest.
In 2020 and 2021, PG and PhD students who did not meet a certain attendance requirement for their orientations were asked to take up extra courses as penalty. They were to take up two courses from an e-learning platform, costing Rs. 2000 each, and completion documents were to be submitted. The Institute withheld their monthly stipends until these documents were given. It is shocking to know that the Administration is openly threatening students—by withholding stipends which they rightfully earn through teaching assistantships and other work.
Irrespective of attendance regulations, we think that the Administration needs to learn sensitive ways of responding (it is important to note here that this attendance requirement was not communicated to students beforehand, but was imposed retrospectively). Many students contribute to the well-being of their families (apart from their own) using their stipends. And students living with their families are often expected to take up responsibilities at home, given Covid-19 and the various effects it has caused. It is disappointing to see that the Institute has disregarded the consequences such an action can have on its student community and beyond.
We see these as steps toward making the campus more inaccessible for students from marginalized sections, while creating a hostile environment more generally. While official narratives claim that the Institute is, and is working towards, enhancing accessibility, this is far from true. And these new and bizarre mandates certainly do not help us move in that direction. By continuously imposing monetary penalties, directly and indirectly, the Administration is openly intimidating students, and making learning less conducive. We don’t think this is how public universities, including the IITs, should deal with situations, especially given the crises and uncertainty present now. As alumni of IIT Gandhinagar, we have been told that we are to support the Institute in its mission (among others) of enhancing inclusivity and accessibility. But from what we see, the Institute is not acting in the spirit of inclusivity, especially during a time when that spirit is most needed. If anything, it seems to be finding new ways of excluding students.
We have therefore decided to not contribute to any funds that are associated with IIT Gandhinagar, until these penalties are withdrawn. We also urge prospective donors to critically examine the Institute’s policies around access and inclusivity, and to see for themselves whether what is being claimed is actually practiced.
Endorsed by:
Rohit Revi, Class of 2017, Humanities and Social Sciences
Ajin K Thomas, Class of 2019, Humanities and Social Sciences
Omi Kumari, Class of 2019, Humanities and Social Sciences
Devduttaa Chakraborty, Class of 2020, Humanities and Social Sciences Saravanan V, Class of 2016, Humanities and Social Sciences
Arundhathy, Class of 2018, Humanities and Social Sciences
Nithin George, Class of 2021, Cognitive Science
Sini Susan Varghese, Class of 2016, Humanities and Social Sciences
Bhoomika Sonand, Class of 2016, Electrical Engineering
Swapnil Bitra, Class of 2016, Mechanical Engineering
Gnana Selvam, Class of 2020, Humanities and Social Sciences
Arun Cherkkil, Class of 2019, Mechanical Engineering
Rakhi, Class of 2016, Cognitive Science
Siddharth Behere, Class of 2017, Mechanical Engineering
M Srinivas, Class of 2016, Humanities and Social Sciences
Rendla Aditya, Class of 2020, Computer Science and Engineering
Tushar Meshram, Class of 2016, Humanities and Social Sciences
Sai Kiran Bojja, Class of 2019, Civil Engineering
Raqib Ahmad Dar, Class of 2020, Humanities and Social Sciences
Tanvi Jain, Class of 2019, Humanities and Social Sciences
Prerna Khobragade, Class of 2020, Humanities and Social Sciences
Rahul Rajeev, Class of 2020, Materials Engineering
Nagasai Vardhan, Class of 2019, Electrical Engineering
Shantamoy Guha, Class of 2020, Earth Sciences
Jahnu Bh, Class of 2020, Humanities and Social Sciences
Arbind Kumar Patel, Class of 2021, Earth Sciences
Harry, Class of 2019, Cognitive Science
Luke Nihal Dasari, Class of 2019, Cognitive Science
Greeshma Mohan, Class of 2020, Cognitive Science
Shalinee Bharat, Class of 2020, Civil Engineering
Ankit Dodla, Class of 2019, Biological Engineering
Amjeth Basheer, Class of 2017, Civil Engineering
Bhargav Oza, Class of 2016, Humanities and Social Sciences Heisnam Olivia Devi, Class of 2019, Humanities and Social Sciences Baby Ziliya N A, Class of 2018, Cognitive Science
Midhula Chandran, Class of 2016, Cognitive Science Mujeebu Rahman K C, Class of 2017, Humanities and Social Sciences Arun Krishna, Class of 2016, Humanities and Social Sciences Harshal Lambhate, Class of 2018, Civil Engineering
Ahamed Naji, Class of 2018, Mechanical Engineering Zaphya, Class of 2020, Humanities and Social Sciences Garima Patel, Class of 2017, Chemical Engineering
V V S Akhil, Class of 2020, Materials Engineering
Ritam Chatterjee, Class of 2017, Mechanical Engineering Prateek Khobragade, Class of 2017, Humanities and Social Sciences C R Greeshma, Class of 2020, Materials Engineering Vipul Nair, Class of 2014, Cognitive Science
Abhinay Rana, Class of 2018, Chemical Engineering Nishanth Naik, Class of 2017, Mechanical Engineering Keerthi, Class of 2016, Civil Engineering
Abhijith T K, Class of 2018, Civil Engineering
Azba Shaikh, Class of 2019, Cognitive Science
Suryakumar Mane, Class of 2017, Mechanical Engineering Kanika Gupta, Class of 2017, Civil Engineering
Shubham Gond, Class of 2020, Materials Engineering Rituparna Rana, Class of 2018, Humanities and Social Sciences Vasu Bhalothia, Class of 2020, Electrical Engineering Sreekanth C, Class of 2019, Cognitive Science
Vinaya, Class of 2018, Cognitive Science
Ronit Dey, Class of 2017, Mechanical Engineering
Fairoos C., Class of 2020, Physics
Kartik Mandlekar, Class of 2019, Civil Engineering
Rohit, Class of 2016, Chemistry
Rojan Mathew, Class of 2017, Civil Engineering
Syed Azhar Ali, Class of 2016, Civil Engineering
Ankit Sharma, Class of 2019, Mechanical Engineering Arya Adityan, Class of 2019, Humanities and Social Sciences Megha Sanyal, Class of 2018, Cognitive Science
Akarsh A, Class of 2020, Earth Sciences
Tibin Thomas, Class of 2016, Mechanical Engineering Nikhil Cherian Kurian, Class of 2016, Electrical Engineering Manu, Class of 2019, Physics
Kishore, Class of 2016, Cognitive Science
Chinmay Dashpute, Class of 2020, Mechanical Engineering Piyusha, Class of 2019, Humanities and Social Sciences Anshal Jhaveri, Class of 2016, Mechanical Engineering Prerna Subramanian, Class of 2018, Humanities and Social Sciences Deepika Sharma, Class of 2016, Chemistry
Rujuta, Class of 2020, Humanities and Social Sciences Shreyas, Class of 2020, Materials Engineering
Kavan Joshi, Class of 2020, Materials Engineering
Nitiksha, Class of 2020, Computer Science and Engineering Md Kashif Jamal, Class of 2020, Mathematics
Devu Mahesan, Class of 2016, Cognitive Science
Rohit Sharma, Class of 2020, Computer Science
Zeeshan Ahmed, Class of 2021, Mechanical Engineering Siddharth Sheshadri Krishnan, Class of 2019, Chemical Engineering Gaurav Panthi, Class of 2018, Biological Engineering Simily Sabu, Class of 2015, Cognitive Science
Debtroy Das, Class of 2020, Physics
Noyonika Das, Class of 2020, Humanities and Social Sciences Deep Shah, Class of 2019, Civil Engineering
Jatin Aren, Class of 2019, Civil Engineering
Aalok Gangopadhyay, Class of 2015, Electrical Engineering Ekta Khemchandani, Class of 2020, Cognitive Science Manasi Wali, Class of 2017, Cognitive Science
This article was originally published on Livewire.