The Faculty Association of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has come out in support of IIT Bombay Professor Suryanarayana Doolla who is at the centre of a controversy following the death of a second-year BTech student. Sahil Wakode’s death on September 18 has triggered protests at the institute.
The IIT Madras Faculty Association said it stood with IIT Bombay’s Professor Doolla while also extending its condolences to the family, friends and classmates of Sahil Wakode.
“No words can ease the grief of his parents and family, and we extend our heartfelt condolences to them. We also stand with his friends, classmates and the wider student community of IIT Bombay, who are mourning the loss of one of their own. “At a time of such grief, we believe it is important that the circumstances be examined fairly and through due process. We note the statement of the IIT Bombay Faculty Forum that Prof. Suryanarayana Doolla, as course instructor and invigilator, acted in accordance with the Senate-approved academic procedures of the institute,” it added. Sahil was allegedly caught using a mobile phone during a mid-semester examination. His family has alleged that he faced institutional harassment and caste-based discrimination before his death. Students protesting on the campus have claimed that he was under severe pressure and had faced threats of suspension from the college.
The student was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his room at Hostel Number 4 on the IIT Bombay campus in Mumbai’s Powai area on Friday evening.
The death of any student is a loss to the entire academic community, and it is a reminder that our institutions must keep making the wellbeing of every student a central priority,” the faculty association said in a statement. He allegedly used ChatGPT during the exam, according to IIT Bombay officials. IIT Bombay, in a statement, said the student had allegedly uploaded the examination question paper to ChatGPT to seek answers.
No individual be held responsible, publicly or in the media, before such a process has run its course. Premature conclusions, media trials and speculation, including on social media, cause lasting harm to all concerned and do not serve the cause of justice or the memory of the student. 2.
