Last update:October 26, 2024, 7:35 PM IST

Lakshmi Balakrishnan said she already holds two master’s degrees and has invested nearly £100,000 (about Rs 1.09 crore) in her education and living expenses at Oxford.

People walk around the Oxford University campus in Oxford, England. (AP file photo)

An Indian PhD student from Tamil Nadu has claimed that Oxford University “forcibly transferred” her to a master’s course without her consent.

“They forced me out of the PhD program and moved me to a master’s level course without my consent,” Lakshmi Balakrishnan told BBC.

Expressing her feelings of betrayal and disappointment at the prestigious institution, she added: “I have a sense of betrayal and I feel that I have been let down by an institution that I held in high regard.”

Balakrishnan also mentioned that she already holds two master’s degrees and has invested nearly £100,000 (about Rs 1.09 crore) in her education and living expenses at Oxford.

“I already have two master’s degrees from India and I paid £100,000 at Oxford to get my PhD, not another master’s course,” she added.

“He made huge sacrifices”

Balakrishnan’s journey was a challenging one, she lost her mother at a young age and was raised by her father in South India. Determined to succeed before becoming the first person in her family to study abroad.

“I’m the first person in my family to come abroad to study and coming from a disadvantaged background, I’ve made huge sacrifices to come and study at Oxford,” she said.

She claims that the university’s English faculty did not act in “good faith”, noting that her thesis idea was initially accepted in the application process and in her first year, only to be rejected in her fourth year. This year she faced an assessment in which two different assessors failed her, claiming that her research on Shakespeare did not meet doctoral standards.

Despite challenging the faculty’s decision and going through the appeals process, Balakrishnan was unsuccessful. “I think the university’s strategy is to force me through endless appeals and grievance procedures in the hope that I will eventually give up and leave,” she explained.

The university has confirmed that the appeals process has ended. Queen’s College, where Balakrishnan studied, expressed concern about her treatment, pointing out that no serious issues had been raised about her work in its tenure reports, despite her failing the two assessments . The college also highlighted possible errors in the appeals process, questioning how she was transferred to a master’s course.

Two professors specializing in Shakespeare said her research had potential and merited a Ph.D. However, the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) supported the university’s position.

In response, the University of Oxford said: “To obtain Confirmation of Status, progress must sufficiently demonstrate a high probability of successful completion of a PhD thesis. Unfortunately, not all students succeed in this.” They added that students have the right to challenge assessments and that the process ensures fairness and transparency.

Location:

United Kingdom (Great Britain)