Mangalore: Colleges Deny Reports of Barring Victim Student from Exams
Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore
Mangalore, Aug 2: Some of the educational institutions whose students were assaulted by goons in the recent attack on a home stay in Mangalore, have vehemently denied media reports of barring one of the victim students from answering examinations, as reported by a section of the press.
Nidhish S Shetty, Vice Chairman of Shree Devi Education Trust confirmed to daijiworld that one of its students, a victim of the recent brawl, has attended the classes as usual when the college was reopened on Wednesday August 1. He said, “Our college had a vacation and students were under the care of their parents. I don’t see any reason why the management of any institution should punish students who were not at fault."
Dr Devaraj, Principal of SDM College of Business Management has also rubbished media reports based on hearsay. In fact when daijiworld got wind of these rumours on July 31 that a student is barred from writing exams, we immediately contacted Dr Devaraj to ascertain the veracity of the news. Dr Devaraj had not only denied these rumours but also expressed that his institution had supported the students by responding to the strike call given by them to protest against the disgraceful incident.
When we again contacted him on August 1 in the backdrop of media reports Dr Devaraj said that his college would never take such an unsympathetic step on a student who is already traumatized. “It was an ordinary party and I don’t think there is any need to punish the students for what happened at the home stay. When I read the report I sent a world asking the girl to meet me and she came to the college along with her parents to meet me in the evening. She did not want to come to college as she is yet to come to terms with the reprehensible incident and wanted to avoid answering questions. Our exams began on Monday and in the fragile condition of her mental status she said she is unable to answer her exams. But she will come back to college on Monday and we will give her a chance to write the internal exams again”.
Dr Devaraj however says that in the college prospectus it has been clearly mentioned that students should not participate in any private parties without prior permission from the college. The institute had a bitter experience recently when some of its students who had gone to Madikeri for a freshers' party were bashed up and looted by the locals. “But this was an ordinary party and there is no question of debarring her from exams when the student is going through the worst kind of trauma”, Dr Devaraj stated.
The management of School of Social Work, Roshani Nilaya, denied that any of its students was a victim in the home stay incident. “None of our student was part of the recent home stay attack or had anything to do with it”, said Principal of the college Dr Sr Sophhia Fernandes. Sr Sophia also said “it does not mean to say the issue does not concern us. We are greatly saddened by the shameful incident and the attack on students. Whether my college student was a victim or not in this incident is secondary. But our college is in complete solidarity with the student community in their fight for justice and in ensuring that such incidents do not recur”, she stated.
In fact it is now believed that one of the victim’s houses is behind Roshani Nilaya and in the confusion for the Police it became only Roshani Nilaya.
No doubt, the solidarity expressed by the managements of most of these colleges to which the victims belong, has come as a big relief for all those who felt concerned about the future of these students. Support and solidarity for the victims is the need of the hour especially at a time when they must be trying hard to come out of the trauma they have undergone.
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