The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), on Tuesday, January 16, sent another reminder to the Deputy Commissioner (DC) and District Magistrate (DM), Bengaluru Urban District, for immediate action regarding the suicide of Aditya Prabhu, a first-year BTech student at PES University.
Earlier, the commission had issued a letter to the district authorities dated December 12, 2023, mandating that an inquiry be conducted into the suicide case and a report be sent within seven days.
A reminder notice was later issued on December 27, 2023.
However, the investigation report is yet to be submitted to the commission even after over a month since the initial notice was sent.
“Your response in the matter has not been received in the Commission so far. You are requested to furnish the response within 07 days of the receipt of this letter, failing which the Commission will be constrained to initiate summons proceedings under section 14 of the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005,” the letter issued by NCPCR on January 16, said.
To recall, two suicides were reported at Bengaluru’s PES University in 2023, that of Aditya Prabhu on July 17, and that of Surya M Achar on October 27, due to an alleged toxic classroom environment, and callous behaviour exhibited by certain faculty members and the management. The university has been now asked to take cognisance of the matter, as, so far, there has been no probe undertaken by the institution into the incident.
Deceased’s family speaks…
Meanwhile, an Instagram handle with the username @justiceforadityaprabhu, run by the cousin of Aditya Prabhu, shared an Instagram Story saying that educational institutes should adopt necessary changes to ensure students do not face harassment.
“Certain steps are being taken and some changes are considered to be made in the education system through our cause and we are happy about it. However, we are not satisfied because it is deviating from the main agenda. We want institutions to realise that students should be handled with care under any circumstances and a proper, acceptable SOP must be followed. These are the changes we expect ,” the Instagram post dated January 16, read.
An expert committee which was set up by the Karnataka government following the suicide of a BTech student at Bengaluru’s PES University, recommended an ‘open-book examination’ and replacing marks with grades to prevent student suicides due to academic pressure.
However, the deceased’s family highlighted that while open book exams might be a good option to reduce academic pressure among students, it will still not solve the main issue.
“The main issue here is the mishandling of students in the name of being strict leading to harassment and mental torture, and we shouldn't forget that,” it added.
