Jadavpur University’s highest-decision-making body, the executive council, has accepted the recommendations of the internal complaints committee that a teacher accused of harassing female students be barred from entering the campus until he is declared fit in psychological counselling.
The counselling will continue till the teacher is declared fit and the certificate is verified by the university authorities “through a well laid-down procedure”, said JU vice-chancellor Suranjan Das.
On whether he will continue to draw a full salary during the period he will be barred from entering the campus, VC Das said: “We will take the opinion of the lawyers about this and act accordingly.”
Students of a department of the university had in September accused the teacher of “inappropriate behaviour”, prompting the university to ask the committee to carry out a probe.
The internal committee has in its report “concluded that his (the teacher’s) unwelcome and physical and verbal conduct of sexual nature intimidated the students and made them feel uncomfortable in his class”.
The report was tabled at a meeting of the university’s executive council on Wednesday.
The panel has recommended: “The respondent (the professor) needs to undergo counselling from a professional counsellor and be allowed inside the university premises after submitting the completion certificate to the university.”
Some of the students said they were concerned if the counselling would be effective on a teacher who had been “behaving like this for many years”.
“What is the guarantee that the counselling sessions would cure him at all?” a student asked.
VC Das later told The Telegraph the teacher can undergo counselling at the university’s own counselling facility or any professional facility outside the campus.
“The counselling could go on for six months or one year... Once he is through with the process of counselling, he has to submit certificates,” said the VC.
When this newspaper sought to know whether they would speak to the counsellor or verify the certificates before taking a call on whether the entry bar could be revoked, Das said: “We have a well laid down procedure for verification.”
The internal committee has said: “Above all being the professor of a higher educational institution, this type of objectionable behaviour in his class and frivolous comments is not warranted.”
Calls and text messages to the teacher failed to elicit any response.
The committee has recommended: “As per the rule of the higher educational institution the matter of the respondent (the teacher) should be looked into by the institution and necessary measures be taken to address the grievances of the students”.
Some of the steps that the committee has recommended are: “The respondent should be barred from guiding any female students...not be allowed to go on a field trip with students...must undergo gender sensitization programmes of the university.”
It has recommended a note of this report “must be kept in his service book for future reference”.
The accused teacher during the period of the probe was barred from taking classes but not from going to the department. “Now, he has been barred from entering the campus,” said a council member.
On October 18, students filed a general diary at Jadavpur police station against the professor with charges that included taking photographs of female students without their consent, inappropriate physical contact and uninvited comments about the students’ looks, dress, figure and social life.
