Kalakshetra Foundation Shuts Down After Protest By Students Over Lack Of Action Against Sexual Harassment

The students who started the protest on Thursday morning temporarily halted in the wee hours of Friday.

The students said that they will continue the protest if no concrete action is taken by the college administration against the professor (File Photo)

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The Kalakshetra Educational Institute shut down after students protested over the lack of action on sexual harassment complaints against a professor on Thursday. The students who started the protest on Thursday morning temporarily halted in the wee hours of Friday.

However, they are set to continue again from Friday morning.

According to ANI, an official statement from the institute said, "Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts will remain closed from March 30 (5.15 pm) to April 6. All the inmates are requested to vacate the hostel within two days with immediate effect."

"Exams scheduled on these days are postponed. The new dates will be announced in due course. This issues with the approval of the competent authority," it said. 

On Thursday, the students of Kalakshetra Educational Institute staged a protest inside the campus to take action against a professor for allegedly sexually harassing the students. Till now, several students have come out against the alleged harassment by the professor and a couple of them even narrated their ordeal, as per reports.

A suvivor has also given a complaint to Adyar police. The National Commission for Women (NCW) too ordered Tamil Nadu police to conduct a probe. However, NCW later withdrew the order by stating that the victim denied sexual harassment while being inquired about by the IC committee.

Meanwhile, the students alleged that the administration is not ready to take action against the teacher since he has been working for a long time in the institution. 

As a result, the students said that they will continue the protest if no concrete action is taken by the college administration against the professor. The students temporarily halted the protest in the wee hours of Friday. However, they said that they will continue the protest again on Friday morning. 

The students had been protesting since Thursday afternoon.