Dr Nivedita Gajanan Ekbote, Principal, Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Pune, took to X (formerly Twitter) on Friday and rubbished the allegations of discrimination levelled against her and the institution by Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar.
Ambedkar on Thursday claimed that a man named Prem Birhade was forced to forfeit his employment opportunity at Heathrow Airport in London after Modern College refused to verify his academic credentials because he was Dalit.
In a two-page statement, Ekbote said that Birhade, who was admitted to the BBA programme in June 2020 and passed in January 2024, "has been continuously posting false, misleading, and defamatory statements on social media, attempting to malign the image of the college, its staff members, and the principal."
"It is important to note that the student completed his education prior to my tenure as principal, and I have never personally known or taught him. Furthermore, the student has already been issued three Letters of Recommendation (LORs) and one Bonafide Certificate by the college administration in the past, thereby fulfilling all his legitimate academic documentation requirements. Recently, he approached the college once again, demanding that an Education Reference for employment purposes be issued under my signature. Considering his unsatisfactory conduct and disciplinary record during his tenure as a student, and as per institutional policy, the college decided not to issue any further recommendation or reference letter," Ekbote wrote.
After the college didn't issue the recommendation, Birhade "began publishing false, defamatory, and inflammatory videos on various social media platforms, falsely alleging that the college, Dr Anjali Sardesai (Vice-Principal, Academics), Prof. Lawly Das (Head, BBA Department), and the undersigned are discriminating against him on caste grounds," said the principal.
"I wish to categorically state that no such instance of caste-based discrimination has ever occurred. Neither the college nor any staff member has ever raised or discussed his caste identity at any time. The institution upholds the highest standards of equality, inclusivity, and respect for all communities, particularly students belonging to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories. I also wish to place on record my deep respect for Bharat Ratna Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution. His ideals of equality, education, and social justice have profoundly influenced my personal and professional journey. It is because of the empowering constitutional framework envisioned by Dr Ambedkar that I proudly serve today as the principal of this reputed institution," Ekbote added.
The principal further stated that refusal to issue the recommendation is "purely based on institutional norms, disciplinary considerations, and professional ethics, and has no connection whatsoever with the student's social or community background."
