IIT Kharagpur has decided to introduce a “Gender Sensitisation and Gender Justice” course from the 2024-25 academic year for all students to raise awareness among students about respectful interactions and prevent harassment and discrimination.
The online course, an official of the IIT said, will help students recognise inappropriate behaviour at the workplace and make them better equipped to detect sexual harassment situations/incidents at the workplace.
The different modules of the course will include video lectures on equality, diversity and inclusion, prevention of sexual harassment and redressal mechanisms.
The students enrolled for the course will eventually be evaluated through an online test after completion of the course.
The IITs have in recent times been admitting more women in a move aimed at rectifying gender imbalance in the country’s premier institutions.
An IIT official said that along with rectifying gender balance, it is as much important to promote gender sensitisation and gender justice.
The aim of the course is to ensure compliance with local, national and international anti-discrimination laws and promote a safe and legally compliant campus environment, the official said.
“What is most important is that the course aligns with broader social responsibility goals, positioning the institution as a leader in promoting gender equality and social justice,” he said.
A professor said students at the IIT are from diverse social and economic backgrounds. “So, it is extremely important that the message of equality, diversity and inclusion, gender equality and social justice is promoted among students through the course,” the professor said.
The basic course structure will be based on the Guidelines of PoSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Workplace) Act 2013.
IIT Kharagpur is in touch with a tech company for the design and development of a module-based e-learning platform for the gender sensitisation and gender justice course.
“In the meantime, we are also interacting with the gender cell team of IIT Bombay, which launched a similar course in their institute in 2021,” the official of the Kharagpur institute said.
