An audio clip of a female college teacher trying to induce four girl students to offer sexual favours to an unnamed person at the apex of the higher education structure in Tamil Nadu has shocked the state’s conscience. That corruption is rampant in higher education is well known since faculty appointments come with a price tag. But sexual gratification takes it to a different level.Dr Nirmala Devi, an assistant professor of mathematics in a private arts college in Virudhunagar district, sought to sell the idea in coded language to four undergraduate girls on March 19 while talking to them on a mobile phone.
The girls had the guts to emphatically say ‘No’ but the teacher went on rambling, dropping some big names and acquaintances in the process. She finally swore them to secrecy, not knowing they had already recorded the conversation. When the gutsy girls approached the head of the institution with the tape, Nirmala was suspended but nothing else was apparently done to get to the root of the racket, which was perhaps why the tape surfaced on social media.
Who then was Nirmala servicing? And how widespread and layered is this gratification racket? From her monologue caught on tape, it is easy to discern Nirmala is not a professional procurer. Had she been a pro, she would not have wanted the phone’s loudspeaker switched on and failed to fathom the possibility of it being recorded. Professionals also know where to stop and quickly size up the reaction from the other side, both instincts missing in her random, long-winding conversation. Nirmala actually came across as naive and possibly a victim herself.
Now that she has been arrested and going by her bragging that she knew all secrets, she could open a nasty can of worms. Will the full truth be finally out? The Madurai Kamaraj University, to which the college is affiliated, is already squirming. It’s up to the government to prove it has the ability and willpower to get to the bottom of the issue and bring all culprits to book.