BENGALURU: A contract lecturer of St Joseph’s Autonomous College was terminated from service, allegedly due to his sexual orientation, here on Thursday. While the lecturer, identified as Ashley Tellis, maintained that his homosexuality cost him the job, college authorities said his termination has nothing to do with his sexual orientation.
According to Ashley , he was fired from the college, located near Richmond Circle, without any notice.
He said he was summoned to the principal’s office, while he was conducting classes for second year BCom students. “As soon as I was summoned, I went to the principal’s office. In the office, principal told me that the students were disturbed by my ‘personal opinions’,” Ashley said.
“Soon after that he informed me that the management of the Institute had asked him to remove me and I was relieved immediately,” he added.
Ashley also alleged that the management of the Catholic institute was against him, as they did not approve of his homosexuality. “In the classroom, I used to discuss everything with students. Sometimes, it also included issues related to different sexual orientations,” Ashley added.
He also said that he was denied a job in St Joseph’s College, Brigade Road, for the same reason a couple of years ago.
Principal denies allegation
When contacted, Victor Lobo, principal of the college, said that the allegations made by Ashley are baseless. He said the termination has nothing to do with his sexual orientation.
“This faculty member was not following the rules of the contract and was not teaching what he was supposed to. Students, who were disturbed by it, complained to us in batches. After consulting our legal adviser, we decided to remove him,” he added.