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Indian student alleges unjust removal from Oxford PhD program
Oxford removed Balakrishnan from its PhD program, citing her Shakespeare research as insufficient for doctoral standards.
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Lakshmi Balakrishnan. / Image - X/ lakshmipriyab07
Lakshmi Balakrishnan, an Indian PhD student at the University of Oxford, claims she was "forcibly removed" from her doctoral program and transferred to a master’s course without her consent after investing nearly $100,000 in tuition and living expenses.
According to a BBC report, Balakrishnan, who hails from Tamil Nadu in southern India and is the first in her family to study abroad, said Oxford’s English faculty initially accepted her research on Shakespeare but later deemed it insufficient for PhD standards.
Balakrishnan, who holds two master’s degrees from India, says Oxford’s treatment has left her feeling betrayed. “I came to Oxford for a PhD, not another master’s,” she said. According to her, Oxford’s English faculty accepted her thesis proposal at both the application stage and in her first year, only to reject it in her fourth year. During a fourth-year assessment, two assessors concluded her research was not suitable for a PhD.
The Queen’s College, where Balakrishnan studied, expressed concern over her treatment in a letter to the university, pointing out that despite her assessment failures, term reports did not indicate major issues with her work. Two Shakespeare experts also reportedly supported the PhD potential of her research.
Oxford responded in a statement, noting that PhD candidates must demonstrate a high likelihood of successful thesis completion, which they say Balakrishnan did not achieve. “Where a student disagrees with the outcome of an assessment, they have the right to appeal, ensuring fairness and transparency,” the university said.
Balakrishnan, however, claims Oxford’s appeals process is a “strategy” to exhaust her into giving up. Her appeals within the university and through the Office of the Independent Adjudicator were unsuccessful.
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