In the wake of the demise of another student on Tuesday, May 14, at Bengaluru's PES University, a private university established in 2013, both the Left and the Right-wing student organisations, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the All India Students' Association (AISA) condemned the university's lackadaisical attitude towards the deaths taking place on the PES University campuses.
An ABVP Karnataka spokesperson informed EdexLive that given the pervading atmosphere in the university which is allegedly growing more toxic day by day, the association decided to protest in front of the campus gate at 1.30 pm, today, Thursday, May 16, demanding an investigation into the case and an immediate resolution of the existing affairs relating to the students' well-being in the university.
The Karnataka wing of the AISA (@aisa.karnataka) released an official statement, today, via the social media platform, Instagram, denouncing the "apathetic and arrogant approach taken by the university in addressing the mental health problems of its students..."
It further put forth a demand to the state government, requesting that the perpetrators behind such incidents should be held responsible for their deeds and strict legal action must be taken against them immediately.
With this recent incident of the death of the 21-year-old student, the count has increased to four, and that too in less than a year. As per reports, the third-year BTech Computer Science student at PES University’s Electronic City campus was denied entry into the examination hall for being late.
Not only this, it is alleged that the student was told he would not be allowed to appear for his campus placements which may have been a driving factor behind him taking the extreme step.
As per AISA's press release, the university in order to contain the news, tried to silence the issue. AISA claimed that the student was a victim of harassment and was placed under immense mental duress during the time of the exams, a sensitive time for students.
"This incident is not an isolated one as three other students of the university have died by suicide in the past year itself facing harassment and duress from the university officials," stated the AISA press release.
On July 17, 2023, a 19-year-old student Aditya Prabhu was allegedly mistreated by university officials after they accused him of using unfair means in the examination. Aditya too decided to end his life, and since then, similar incidents have followed suit.