During an undergraduate English semester examination at Jadavpur University on December 22, 2025, two female minority UG-3 students allegedly faced discriminatory treatment after the female Head of Department and a female research scholar frisked them separately for Bluetooth devices, in a bid to curb cheating during the examination. A professor from the department denied the allegations and has informed that the students and teachers are set to meet today to deliberate on the issue.
What happened during the examination?
Rupanjana Das, a student of UG-3, Department of English, Jadavpur University, mentioned to News Ei Samay, "Both students were singled out on suspicion of cheating without supporting evidence, while a similar suspicion was not applied to other candidates present in the examination hall. The invigilator instructed one student to unpin and open her hijab during the examination, without any proper reasoning. When other students objected to this and questioned the appropriateness of the request (to unpin and open the hijab in a public setting), the invigilator asserted her authority on the matter before directing the student to comply in private and stating that it was routine procedure." She added, "Subsequently, the invigilator sought out the second hijab-wearing student (who was sitting in a different exam room) and subjected her to similar scrutiny, calling her away from writing her answers during the last half hour of the examination, causing a significant loss of writing time, and no compensatory time was granted, placing her at an academic disadvantage."
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What did the student in question say?
One student, who was frisked, told News Ei Samay, "What happened to me was definitely humiliating and insulting, but what hurt me was such profiling and discrimination happening in Jadavpur University. I, as a hijabi, often face discrimination outside the campus. But we never expected such behaviour from our own professor."
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Professor calls allegations unfortunate
Professor at the Department of English, Dr. Manojit Mandal told News Ei Samay, "The allegations raised are extremely unfortunate. The department had recovered Bluetooth devices from students during a semester examination on December 17. Similar incidents occurred on December 22. The students were frisked in seclusion in the presence of our Head of Department, who is a woman, and another female scholar. Neither of the students had objected to the preventive measure at that time, and the department has not received any individual grievances till now, other than an e-mail from the entire class. The teachers and students are scheduled to meet today to deliberate and discuss the matter."
