PANAJI
The VM Salgaonkar College of Law in Goa has refused to sack its Professor Shilpa Singh, who was threatened by the RSS-affiliated students wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP). The College has also warned the ABVP of possible legal action.
Shilpa Singh, the political science professor of Salgaocar Law College, Miramar drew the ire of the right-wing students body which alleged that she teaches anti-religious things but has reportedly not pointed it out objectively.
In a reply to ABVP, the acting principal of the College Prof G Shaber Ali informed the ABVP that the College believes in following the principles of natural justice and due process of law in dealing with any grievance that is submitted to its grievance redressal committee. The same was communicated to the members of ABVP by the former officiating principal.
“In view of your said statement (demanding termination of Singh’s services within 24 hours and threatening severe agitation against the institution upon the failure of the college to do so)...we reserve our rights to file appropriate legal proceedings against you and your organization, as we may be advised,” the College has stated in the letter which was sent by registered post on Sunday.
Questioning Singh’s teaching methods in the online classes as well as lecture content, ABVP had served the college a 24-hour ultimatum on October 19 to sack her. It also threatened an “aggressive agitation” if their demand was not met.
The College had written back to the organisation that it cannot accept its demand to terminate Singh but also referred the plaint to be dealt by the Student Grievances Committee which sought an explanation from her.
It however had sought an explanation from Singh on her teaching methods and content she uses.
In her reply, Singh is believed to have questioned the organisation’s locus-standi to adjudicate on teaching styles inside classrooms. She pointed out that it has a grievance redressal committee for students and that this internal procedure has not been followed.
“Your organization has no locus standi to dictate the teaching standards or to sit in judgment upon the ambit of a teacher’s autonomy to frame her own pedagogical framework in a classroom. This is strictly between the professor and the students concerned,” Singh had said in her reply while adding that the recordings were obtained unethically by ABVP without her permission. ABVP’s failure to corroborate its allegations of “anti-religious sentiments” and “hate speech” with concrete evidence was also highlighted.
