A warden at the National Institute of Technology Calicut (NIT-C) put up a notice at girls’ hostel that stated ‘if any girl found along with a boy student inside residential campus will face severe action, including suspension, and expulsion from hostel’.
The notice, which was put on the night of November 22 was taken down the next day. The notice, which read more like a threat, was issued by warden of girls’ hostel Dr S Bhuvaneshwari. Social media was soon buzzing with comments of regressive practises and discrimination being heaped upon female students in Indian education institutes.
When PaGaLGuY called Dr S Bhuvaneshwari today (November 24) she refused to comment, and disconnected the call.
When another member from the administrative team of NIT-C, Dr R Sridharan, was contacted, he said he is not aware of the issue, as he is not in Calicut. After going through the institute’s website, it was found that he is also a member of the Grievance Cell.
However, it is only when PaGaLGuY spoke to a couple of students at NIT-C that a different picture emerged. On the condition of anonymity, a female student, said, “The words used in the notice were harsh, and it was unfair as indirect allegations were made towards us. However, after clarifying it with the Warden, we realised the message was lost in the words.”
It turns out that on November 22, a few students (both boys and girls), jumped into faculty compound. The female student, added, “When the Dr Bhuvaneshwari was informed by other faculty members about this incident, she immediately sent a notice to the girl students, without discussing with the management.”
Students also said that they sympathize with the warden as it was a mistake. But by then, the notice had already gone from the walls of girls’ hostel at NIT-C, to the walls of social media.