KV Krishna, Dean of Academic Affairs at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati resigned from his position today, Wednesday, September 11, in light of student protests demanding justice for a third-year student who died on Monday, September 9, allegedly by suicide, stated a report by PTI.
IIT authorities said that they received the resignation letter of the dean. "We are discussing this internally. A decision will be taken soon," they said.
Students staged demonstrations and called for access to adequate mental health care after the third-year student hailing from Uttar Pradesh allegedly died by suicide on September 9; his body was found in his room.
The students who were protesting said that the deceased suffered from depression and anxiety and was experiencing health problems after he was marked for failed attendance (FA).
The students claimed that even after the deceased student had submitted the required medical certificates, those were not considered making him even more depressed.
The students have been protesting outside the administration building science since September 9. This is the fourth death of a student in IIT Guwahati this year, stated a PTI report.
The demonstrators called for the dismissal of a professor who they said barred many students from passing due to low attendance, even though many of them had solid justifications for failing to attend class.
IIT Guwahati Director Devendra Jalihal met the protesting students and has taken cognisance of the issues. The director has asked the students to go back to their classes.
Meanwhile, media persons were barred by the authorities from entering the IIT Guwahati campus to cover the protests and subsequent developments.
