28 March,2019 07:15 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
A day after women students of the state-run JJ Hospital's Grant Medical College protested against the hospital diktat asking them not to wear 'short skirts', on Monday, some students alleged that they were being threatened by the authorities. A report in this paper said that hospital officials were demanding to know why the issue was 'blown out of proportion'.
To recap, on March 23, at the annual function, Astitva, of Grant Medical College, the women students were instructed not to wear short skirts and to return to the hostel by 10pm. The male students, however, had no restrictions. Following this, many women students held a protest on the hospital premises.
This though is not the only woe. This paper has been following problems on campus, with students saying that dress code is not isolated, there is a 10 pm curfew, no-sitting-with-men policy, plans for a segregated library, chat groups to appraise parents of their activities, none of which applies to male doctors of JJ's medical college.
This bullying by hospital officials needs to stop. Going around intimidating students, using one's power to send a 'stop protesting or else' signal to youngsters is counterproductive to the atmosphere on campus. It creates a schism between staff/management and students.
This is a divide that any institution can ill afford.
Address all the so-called discrimination and repose confidence in the students. Students must feel they have an avenue to show dissent if there is injustice. Student representatives and authorities can sit across the table and de-escalate the situation at the earliest. Do not be dismissive as this can have significant ramifications on teacher-student relationships not just outside but in the classroom, too.
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