The University of the West of Scotland is discriminating against its own students in London, write Nikhil Mathew and Priyambada Seal.
The Students’ Federation of India – United Kingdom is calling for a protest in response to ongoing discriminatory behavior and partiality faced by south asian students at the University of the West Scotland’s London campus. Despite repeated efforts to address these issues through official channels, the university’s response has been inadequate, leading to significant distress among the affected student body.
Students across cohorts have reported instances of derogatory comments and biased treatment from certain members of the academic staff. Explicitly discriminatory comments, both within and outside the classroom, along the lines of “Indian students only come for visas, none of you are here to study” have preceeded a situation wherein hundreds of MBA students – all south asian – have failed enmasse a particular module and will thereby not graduate with a degree.
Meetings have been undertaken between SFI and the University administration from January 2024. During an initial meeting at the UWS Paisley campus, it was agreed that an investigation team would meet with affected students on February 22, 2024. University officials agreed at this meeting to consider verbal testimonies and to address issues of discriminatory behavior that were raised. However, the investigation that followed was found to be incomplete, failing to address key issues such as unfair marking and discriminatory remarks. We are thus faced with this issue recurring with the subsequent batch of students.
In the wake of these events, the SFI has taken the lead in gathering substantial evidence, including numerous witness statements, to support the students’ claims. Despite this, the university has delayed the resolution process, seemingly waiting for the students’ visas to expire. As a result, we have been forced to hold a protest on August 1, 2024, in front of the university to demand immediate action. If the university fails to resolve the issues by the end of August, the students will begin an indefinite protest starting on September 3, 2024. This protest will include students enrolled from September 2022 to May 2024, all of whom have been affected by the university’s actions.
The Students’ Federation of India (UK) urges the University of West Scotland to take these concerns seriously and work towards a fair and unbiased resolution to restore trust and ensure a supportive learning environment for all students.
This article is based on a press release issued this week by Nikhil Mathew and Priyambada Seal, respectively the Secretary and President of the Students’ Federation of India (UK). They can be contacted at sfi.unitedkingdom@gmail.com.