A student studying in Bangalore’s Christ University was left feeling mortified after her invigilator during an online exam addressed her as ‘baby’.
Sharing the screenshot of the conversation on Twitter, the female student claimed that after submitting her answers for her end-semester examination in a PDF format, she asked the invigilator if she could end her exam to which the proctor responded by saying “another 3 minutes baby”.
The feeling of uneasy meted out by the invigilator was corroborated by many other students of the Bannerghatta Road Campus. Talking to Indian Express, a fellow student said that the behavior of the proctor made the other students feel extremely uncomfortable as well. According to her statement, the invigilator had asked the students to bend the camera down to a low angle saying he wanted to ensure that no malpractice takes place, however it gave the students a feeling that they were being looked at in an inappropriate manner.
Another student noted that upon approaching the faculties regarding the issue, they were dismissed and asked to take the in the right spirit as the words of the proctor were a mere gesture of his care and goodwill towards the students.
Some students addressed the absence of a proper grievance redressal system that has pushed many students into distress amid uncertainties posed by the pandemic. While others contended that the University has failed to acknowledge the problems being faced by the student community, including internet issues being faced by many while attending classes or writing exams online.
A guideline has been passed by the University which states that ensuring stable internet connectivity will be the responsibility of the student, said another MBA student from the institution.
Meanwhile, taking cognizance of the situation, the Karnataka unit of the National Students Union of India (NSUI) has decided to approach the University Grants Commission with a detailed report on the incidents of alleged misconduct at Christ.
Manish Govind Raj, state General Secretary of NSUI told the Indian Express that the student who brought the allegation against the proctor was forced to admit that the issue was resolved internally.
NSUI is of the opinion that the student must be under pressure from the university while giving such a statement. However, they said that they have already notified the jurisdictional police on the respective matter and are planning to meet the city police commissioner soon.
Manish Govind Raj said that though this is not the first time when such a complaint has been registered, in most of those cases the matters was resolved in a transparent manner while keeping in mind the sensitivity of the issue, unlike Christ which is not willing to listen to the grievances of the students.
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Source: News18