Days after issuing show cause notices to 85 teachers on disciplinary grounds, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur reaffirmed on Thursday, December 5, that any attempts to disrupt the day-to-day academic activities of the institution by "a few individuals" will not be tolerated.
The controversy began on November 12, when the institute sent show cause notices to four office bearers of the IIT Teachers' Association. The teachers had written to the Union Ministry of Education on September 20, raising concerns about nepotism and the arbitrary recruitment of faculty members at the institute.
In response, the teachers sent a letter to Registrar Amit Jain, on November 14, requesting an extension for their reply to the show cause notices.
On November 21, IIT Kharagpur authorities began disciplinary proceedings against the four office bearers for failing to respond within the given time frame.
Following this, on November 28, as many as 85 teachers submitted a joint representation to the registrar, demanding the immediate withdrawal of the show cause notices and the halting of disciplinary actions against the four office bearers. In response, the institute sent show cause notices to the 85 teachers in early December, asking them to explain why they signed the mass representation, which allegedly violated the institute's code of conduct.
In a statement, the IIT Kharagpur administration reiterated its position, dismissing the allegations as baseless.
The statement questioned the motives of the 85 teachers who mobilised the mass representation, accusing them of attempting to disrupt the academic environment without a clear agenda. It further claimed that, apart from a few individuals, most of the signatories were unaware of the full scope of the agenda and were merely “mobilising the media without any concrete evidence.”
The statement also noted that the office bearers who raised the allegations against the administration had been asked to provide supporting data and had been granted an extended deadline of December 13 to substantiate their claims.
The IIT Kharagpur director urged the teachers not to tarnish the reputation of the institution, which holds the status of an Institute of Eminence.
