Bhavan's college at Chowpatty, which has now declared it will take steps to form the committee on priority, had to wait for an incident to do so
Cops outside Bhavan's Chowpatty. PIC/Bipin Kokate
After the shocking incident of a female student of Bhavan's Chowpatty complaining of sexual harassment against a professor, it appears that the college does not have the sexual harassment committee stipulated under Vishakha guidelines, which is mandatory for all educational institutions.
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The college, which has now declared it will take steps to form the committee on priority, had to wait for an incident to do so. A female student of the South Mumbai college had filed a complaint in Gamdevi police station against a male chemistry professor, alleging he offered to resolve her attendance issues along with ensuring she passes the course, in return of sexual favours. The teacher has been terminated from his position.
While the college has now swung into action, it shocked the education circles to know that the college did not have an Internal Committee (IC), mandated under the Vishakha guidelines since 2013.
"We are terminating the services of the concerned faculty with immediate effect," a representative from Bhavan's Chowapatty said. "The complaining student did not approach us. She approached the police directly and we got to know about it when the police inquired with us. We will be forming the IC on priority basis."
Following the incident, the Yuva Sena staged a protest against the college on Saturday to pressurise the college to take appropriate action. Sainath Durge, core committee member of the Yuva Sena, said, "It is shocking that the college of this repute does not have the mandatory IC. Another important aspect that was uncovered today was that the college did not have any written MoU with professors who are working on a contractual basis. Mumbai University needs to form regulations as a precautionary measure."
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