A Tamil Nadu student who spent over Rs 1 crore to get a PhD in English from Oxford University was “forcibly removed” and transferred to a masters course in her fourth year without her consent, BBC reported.
Lakshmi Balakrishnan, who already has two masters degree, was told by the assessors that her Shakespeare research wasn’t a PhD level work, thus failing her in her fourth year.
“They forcibly removed me from the PhD program and moved me to a masters level course without my consent,” she said.
“I already have two masters degrees from India and I paid £100,000 at Oxford to get my PhD, not another masters course,” she added.
Two professors specializing in Shakespeare noted that her research holds significant potential and deserves consideration for a PhD. However, the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) upheld the university’s position on the matter.
“To achieve Confirmation of Status, progress must sufficiently demonstrate a strong likelihood of successful completion of a doctoral thesis. Unfortunately, not all students achieve this. Where a student disagrees with the outcome of an assessment they have the right to appeal under the university’s appeal procedure, which ensures fairness and transparency. There is a further internal route of appeal of that decision and a subsequent right to complain to the OIA,” the Oxford University said in a statement.
Feeling betrayed by the institution, Balakrishnan said, “I feel a sense of betrayal and I feel like I have been let down by an institution that I held in high regard,” he added.
She disputed the University’s decision and decided to take a legal route which remained unsuccessful. “I believe that the university’s strategy is to force me to wade through endless appeals and complaints procedures in the hope that I will eventually give up and go,” she said.