- IIT Bombay postponed mid-semester exams from Sept 26-27 to Oct 10-11 after consultation.
- A new committee with equal student representation will draft SOPs for invigilation and misconduct.
- Revised guidelines will clarify rules and procedures for handling academic misconduct cases.
IIT Bombay, which has been caught in a major storm since the death by suicide of one of its students, has postponed its mid-semester examinations.
The examinations previously scheduled for September 26 and September 27 have been officially postponed to October 10 and October 11.
The decision was finalised after consulting with student stakeholders, a notice from the institute said.
The institute said that the postponement of exam will provide time for a newly constituted committee with equal student representation to formulate a clear, student-friendly Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for invigilators.
The revised guidelines will also establish clearer rules regarding academic misconduct to ensure the fair and consistent conduct of examinations.
Faculty members have highlighted the necessity for step-by-step instructions for managing suspected cases of academic misconduct and outlining procedures for each stage.
Read | 'Caste Charge Politically Motivated': Ex-IIT Board Chief Defends Professor
The newly revised SOP and rules will be submitted to the Senate for formal approval before they are implemented.
IIT Bombay has seen massive student protests since the death of Sahil Wakode, a second year student who was allegedly caught cheating during an exam on September 18.
Wakode's parents have claimed that he had told them about the caste-based slurs he faced. They demanded the immediate arrest of IIT Bombay Director Shirish Kedare and Professor Suryanarayan Doolla, who had caught Wakode cheating in the exam. He has since then been removed as the dean of Administrative Affairs following protests by students and political activists.
Prof Doolla, named in the FIR in the case, which alleges abetment to suicide on grounds of caste discrimination, has been sent on leave to facilitate an impartial probe into the case.
The institute and the faculty forum have strongly defended Prof Doolla against the allegations, saying that he did his duty after he caught the student cheating. The institute has maintained that he was counselled and assured that no action will be taken against him over the cheating incident.
The CCTV footage from the examination hall shows Sahil Wakode being pulled aside by an invigilator on September 18.
Read | CCTV Shows Moment When IIT Student Was Stopped During Exam, Pulled Aside
Wearing a black t-shirt, Wakode is seen seated in a front-row seat when an invigilator, Prof Suryanarayana Doolla, stops by and speaks to him. He gets up from the bench briefly, sits back, and then hands over his mobile phone to the invigilator, the CCTV footage shows.
The conversation between Wakode and Doolla then continues for some time before he starts gathering his belongings and appears to leave the examination hall.
Hours later, the 22-year-old second-year student was found hanging in his hostel room.
IIT Bombay on Wednesday set up a 10-member high-level committee to probe the circumstances surrounding the alleged suicide of B Tech student Sahil Wakode, an official said.
