The Director of KR Narayanan National Institute of Visual Science and Arts, Thekkumthala, Kerala, has found himself in soup after students went on an indefinite strike on Monday, December 5, accusing him of caste discrimination. Students have made a number of allegations against Shankar Mohan, the Director and have demanded his resignation, stated a report by The New Indian Express.
Shankar, they alleged, has discriminated against students and staff based on their caste and treated them inhumanely. According to the students, he even forced the institute's sanitation workers to do domestic labour at his official residence and denied admission to a Dalit student.
"While admitting the new batch this year, the director denied admission to a Dalit student to the editing department despite having four vacant seats. He also carried out appointments to key posts, including that of the dean, production controller and art director, without any notification," said a member of the student council, as reported by The New Indian Express.
Earlier this year, the students staged a similar protest against the director after he dismissed four students from their respective courses due to a lack of attendance. The issue was resolved during a meeting called by Higher Education Minister R Bindu, who directed the institute to take the students back unconditionally. Meanwhile, despite multiple attempts to reach him, Mohan was unavailable for comment, stated The New Indian Express report.
