MIT students’ protest against injustice backed by ABVP

MIT student raises his voice against college for failing him over his protest against the quality of teaching at the institute

At the Maharashtra Institute of Technology, studying Electrical and Telecommunications (E&TC) engineering is a difficult deal. One student, Shubham Shete, has been failed thrice in practical papers, despite securing 75 per cent in the theory subjects. According to students, this was allegedly because Shubham had raised concerns regarding the teaching pattern of one of the faculty members. Students of the institute, along with members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) staged a protest along with heavy sloganeering against this injustice meted out to one of their colleagues

Shubham Shete has been fighting for a degree from the past year and a half

Shubham Shete, 22, is an engineering student hailing from Latur. “My father passed away when I was young. My mother has done odd jobs to keep my sister’s and my studies going. However, right when I was supposed to get a job, my college has denied me a degree in petty malice,” Shubham said. According to him, his crime was only that he raised voice against teachers who don’t teach much and are partial. “The entire E & TC batch is ridden with this problem. We don’t have enough faculties. Even the ones we have are not all up to the mark. I used to raise voice against them to the Head of the Department, G N Muley. He has never till date taken any action. However, in my sixth semester, I was failed in the practical part of one crucial subject,” he said. He sat for the re-exam. However, he was failed again. “The second time, my practical had gone on for half an hour and I had answered all the questions. Even the teachers were satisfied,” he recounted. However, he was failed once again, without any explanation. So, Shubham decided to contest this. “I knocked on all doors; from the HoD, to the principal and even Mangesh Karad, the owner of MIT College, from whose office I was thrown out. I then went to the Pune University and that led to a grievance redressal committee being set up. However, the committee is still looking into the matter and has done nothing,” he said.

MIT becomes the battleground as students protest

It was at this point that Shubham decided to gather his friends and approach the ABVP. “I had a friend who committed suicide last year because of the same issue. If I would have continued on my own, that would have been my future too. The college is just not willing to listen,” he said, emotionally.

The authorities had been adamant that the marks were not a pre-planned method of vengeance. However, their stand changed as the protest grew. Rahul Karad, the owner of MIT, said, “We apologise for the treatment meted out to the young lad. We are still looking into the matter and a thorough probe will be conducted in the matter.” To the protestors, he said, “I understand that you’ve been hurt. But please understand that we all belong to the same family and we have to keep up its name.” The authorities, including the faculty, refused to comment later and the HoD was unavailable for comment.

Shubham demanded a public apology from the principal and Karad, and both obliged. “I am not the only one who has faced this. There are several others too. It has been happening in this institute. I know of a fellow student who has been failed five times in the same subject; due to personal grudge. I just decided to raise my voice as I have nothing to lose,” he said.

Auhtorities have a face-off with Shubham

The MIT-COE (college of engineering) had tried everything in their hand to stop the protests. According to a few students of the final year from the E&TC branch, they were told that their marks would be reconsidered if they dared to support Shubham. A final year student of the branch, requesting anonymity, said, “We were locked from the outside in the classrooms while the classes were going on so that we couldn’t leave and join the protest. The teachers also warned us to be worried about our marks, rather than his.” While the protest was mostly in the courtyard, the presence of Karad reduced the tension to some extent. The authorities had even called in the police. After much sloganeering, the protesters dispersed after the authorities promised that the matter will be looked into without any bias and Shubham would get his degree soon.

ABVP gets into a skirmish

ABVP can’t help but get into a skirmish at every protest

Known for their violent methods, the students from ABVP couldn’t clear their name out of it this time as well. Mid-way, the protesters had a run-in with few other students on the premise that the students were trying to lure away the protesters. While the fight was contained mid-way by the senior ABVP members, it was quickly turned on its head, saying that they were being attacked and hit by ‘forces of the goons’.

gargi.verma@goldensparrow.com

Originally published on The Golden Sparrow