Skip to main content

IIM-Indore students anonymously compain: Authorities ignore their Covid concern

An email alert received by me from a 2020 batch alum of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM)-Indore has forwarded a mail received by this person regarding "concerns of the current students towards the top business institute's Indore branch's authorities' alleged "disregard" towards the management of the Covid-19-related situation on-campus.
The email alert states, "I am writing this to you on behalf of students who do not wish to disclose their names fearing administrative action. I request you to respect their and my request for complete anonymity in this disclosure."
While there are no means to verify what all has been said on behalf of IIM-Indore students, it is being reproducing it to being to light what seems to be the students' concern:
***
This disclosure is with reference to the "The Ken" article that highlights the abuse of administrative power in the midst of a covid-19 outbreak at IIM Indore.
I am writing this to bring to light the present conditions and abuse of administrative power that is happening at IIM Indore in the midst of a Covid-19 outbreak on the campus that is being denied by the administration in a bid to ensure that online examinations do not have to be conducted.
A) Instance 1: The end-term examinations for PGP-1 were scheduled for the period 25th March - 2nd April. On 26th March a batch email was sent to the PGP 1 batch that stated that all exams of PGP-1 were going to abruptly conclude on the 31st of March (this entailed a sudden change of schedule whereby there were 2 end term exams scheduled on each day). This email was sent soon after there were reports of students testing positive on campus. The administration continues to falsely deny the occurrence of the Covid-19 outbreak on campus.
B) Instance 2: Over the course of the past few days, nearly 50-60+ students reported symptoms - fever, cough, running nose - etc. These students have been quarantined basis their symptoms and the institute has taken little to no effort to conduct contact tracing. Furthermore, many of these students who had symptoms were present in several packed exam halls during the start of the end-term examinations. The institute has taken no steps to ensure contact tracing of other exam writing participants.
C) Instance 3: In certain instances, students who had been shifted to quarantine were not provided with online examination links and as such these students were forced to walk out of their quarantine blocks to answer the examinations and then were asked to return to their quarantine block post writing the examination.
D) Instance 4:
There are several instances where students in quarantine who have been showing symptoms have asked for Covid-19 tests and the administration has outrightly refused to offer Covid-19 tests to them. When some students and their parents contacted the college administration, the administration replied by saying that the students are young, and hence even if they get infected, nothing will happen to them.
E) Instance 5: The PGP-1 batch was sent a forwarded email which stated that due to the "present circumstance" in Indore city, it is not possible to get lab technicians to the college to conduct any tests for people who want themselves to get tested. Some students then asked for names of labs that had supposedly declined to come to campus and if it was possible to bring a government lab technician to campus. To this, there has been no response or clarification.
F) Instance 6: On 12th March, the PGP-1 batch was sent an email stating that weekly excursions to any place outside the campus would be banned and that if any student were to visit any place outside campus that they would be required to be quarantined for 5 days upon their return to campus. Immediately after this email was sent, the Placement Committee of IIM Indore, along with the Director and other members of college administration went out of campus to a restaurant, following which they returned to campus and are visible in a group photo where no one is wearing masks or practising social distancing. None of these people (students or Director or administration) who went out, were quarantined upon arrival. Following this, there were Placement Committee members who were quarantined due to symptoms, and some of them have tested positive as well.
Throughout the entire duration of the past few days, the administration of the college has been completely opaque in their communication and has not replied to any public student query emails. At the same time, the college refuses to contact trace or even allow students to get tested citing 'non-availability of technicians. The college still maintains an official stance stating that only 4 students are positive, whereas the reality is very much different.
In communication with certain members of the student bodies, the administration has said that they will not care about what the students have to say since they know what they are doing is correct.

Comments

TRENDING

Defeat of martial law: Has the decisive moment for change come in South Korea?

By Steven Lee  Late at night on December 3, soldiers stormed into South Korea’s National Assembly in armored vehicles and combat helicopters. Assembly staff desperately blocked their assault with fire extinguishers and barricades. South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol had just declared martial law to “ eliminate ‘anti-state’ forces .”

70,000 migrants, sold on Canadian dream, face uncertain future: Canada reinvents the xenophobic wheel

By Saurav Sarkar*  Bikram Singh is running out of time on his post-study work visa in Canada. Singh is one of about 70,000 migrants who were sold on the Canadian dream of eventually making the country their home but now face an uncertain future with their work permits set to expire by December 2024. They came from places like India, China, and the Philippines, and sold their land and belongings in their home countries, took out loans, or made other enormous commitments to get themselves to Canada.

EVMs: Govt must prove beyond reasonable doubt it's upholding mandate for free, fair polls

By Jerald D’souza  With the growth of India’s population, concerns about electoral fraud associated with ballot papers, also began to escalate. In 1989, the People’s Representation Act was amended to enable EVMs to prevent electoral fraud. In 1998, EVMs made their debut during legislative assembly elections and for the first time for general elections in 2004. However, criticisms against the EVMs and questions about their integrity have been raised by political parties, civil society and the general population. On 2 February 2024, there was a noteworthy demonstration of dissent where numerous individuals, including Ambedkarite advocates, legal professionals, and other members of civil society  convened at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar demanding the prohibition of EVMs. In 2024, the Supreme court had slapped down a petition to return to paper ballots on the basis that machines give “absolutely accurate results” unless human bias maligns them. The court stated that it was open to testi...

This Indian British Marxist blamed USSR's collapse in 1991 on Khrushchev's 'revisionism'

By Harsh Thakor*  Harpal Singh Brar, British Indian Marxist scholar and communist leader, has passed away in Chandigarh. He was 85. He was a lifelong supporter of socialism, Marxism, and the working class. He will be remembered among British Communists.

A groundbreaking non-violent approach: Maharishi’s invincible defense technology

By MajGen (R) Kulwant Singh, Col (R) SP Bakshi, Col (R) Jitendra Jung Karki, LtCol (R) Gunter Chassé & Dr David Leffler*  In today’s turbulent world, achieving lasting peace and ensuring national security are more urgent than ever. Traditional defense methods focus on advanced weapons, military strategies, and tactics, but a groundbreaking approach offers a new non-violent and holistic solution: Maharishi’s Invincible Defense Technology (IDT). 

Chalapathi's death in encounter suggests Maoists' inability to establish broader mass support

By Harsh Thakor* The Maoist movement experienced a significant loss during the Ramagudem encounter on January 21, with the death of Chalapathi (Pratap), a Central Committee member of the CPI (Maoist). His death, along with 15 others, marks a major setback for the movement. Reports suggest that his location was revealed to security forces through a selfie with his wife.

Why do we mostly resist and refrain from communicating on sanitation topic?

By Nikhil Kumar, Mansee Bal Bhargava* According to UN SDG Progress report (2022), at the present moment no targets for SDG 6 are expected to be met by 2030. In 2022, 2.2 billion people had no access to safe drinking water and 3.5 million lacked safe sanitation. Approximately 50% of the world’s population was reported to have been under resourced in enough water for part of the year and a quarter of that population was living under “extremely high” water stress. Add to it, droughts have affected over 1.4 billion people between 2002 and 2021.

CCG raises concerns over Indian State of Forest Report 2023 in open letter to environment minister

By A Representative  The Constitutional Conduct Group (CCG), a collective of former civil servants, has expressed serious concerns over the Indian State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2023 in an open letter to the Union Minister for Environment, Forests & Climate Change. The group has criticized the report's delayed release, flawed methodology, and misleading claims regarding the state of India's forests.

Govt of India asked to work for release of 217 Indian fishermen detained in Pakistan since 2021

By A Representative  Members of the fishing communities from Gujarat and Diu, Union Territory, held a press conference in Ahmedabad, urging the Union Government to take proactive measures to secure the release of Indian fishermen currently detained in Pakistan. Presently, 217 Indian fishermen, mostly from Gujarat and Diu, are held in Pakistan’s Malir Jail. Of these, 53 have been incarcerated since 2021 and 130 since 2022.

Operation Kagar represents Indian state's intensified attempt to extinguish Maoism: Resistance continues

By Harsh Thakor Operation Kagar represents the Indian state's intensified attempt to extinguish Maoism, which claims to embody the struggles and aspirations of Adivasis. Criminalized by the state, the Maoists have been portrayed as a threat, with Operation Kagar deploying strategies that jeopardize their activities. This operation weaves together economic, cultural, and political motives, allegedly with drone attacks on Adivasi homes.