Pune: MIT cried foul over the recent controversy regarding the strip checking of five to six girls before entering the examination hall on Monday.
On Saturday, a group of five to six girls of Std 12, whose examination centre was at MIT Junior College in Loni Kalbhor, had lodged a written complaint at the Loni Kalbhor police station against the institution, accusing them of causing humiliation by demanding to remove their trousers for checking.
MIT Institute is an examination centre for around 260 students, out of which 90 students are girls.
MIT denies allegation
However, MIT Group of Institutes denied the allegation and have claimed that they were being projected in a bad light by parents and students of Prithviraj Kapoor Memorial Junior College, at a press meet conducted on Monday.
“As the first batch of Std 12 was appearing for higher secondary examination this year, we had applied to serve as an examination centre of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE). Nevertheless, a false allegation has been made against us. Nothing of this sort has occurred on the premises. Police constables and other women invigilators were also present at the centre. If the girls felt any kind of humiliation, they could have approached them,” said Swati Chate Karad, Executive Director of MIT Group of Institutes.
The woman staffers of MIT, Janaki Pathak and Asha Patil, who were also present at the press meet, stated that they had only asked the students to throw away chits if they were carrying any and the students did so. Both also stated that they had not touched the girls at all.
Threat calls
MIT Group of Institutes further claimed that their staff had received threat calls from parents and locals of the area, demanding to allow their children to copy during the examination. They have also stated that these incidents of threat calls and copy cases have been reported to the state board office over e-mails on February 22.
However, BK Dahiphale, Chairperson of Pune division of the MSBSHSE denied stating that they have not received any letter from MIT Group of Institutes. “We are investigating the matter. So far, we got the institution’s version on this allegation and will speak to the students on Tuesday, as they did not have any papers ongoing in between. We will prepare the reports accordingly. But we have not received any letters from the said institution about threat calls or any such thing,” said Dahiphale.
Dahiphale also confirmed that Prithviraj Kapoor Memorial Junior College has been on top of the list to be considered as a sensitive centre, as last year, the maximum cases of malpractices were reported there.
“Keeping in mind their previous year’s record, we alloted students of commerce and vocational courses this examination centre,” said Dahiphale.
