New Delhi: Famous Edtech firm Unacademy has fired teacher Karan Sangwan for urging students to vote for educated candidates during a class. After his termination, the internet got divided into two, and hashtags like #UninstallUncademy trended on social media.
Responding to the criticism, Unacademy co-founder Rohan Saini explained that Karan Sangwan was fired for being in “breach of code of conduct”. Saini tweeted the matter and said Unacademy is an education platform that is deeply committed to imparting quality education. He wrote, “We are an education platform that is deeply committed to imparting quality education. To do this we have in place a strict Code of Conduct for all our educators with the intention of ensuring that our learners have access to unbiased knowledge.
“Our learners are at the centre of everything we do. The classroom is not a place to share personal opinions and views as they can wrongly influence them. In the current situation, we were forced to part ways with Karan Sangwan as he was in breach of the Code of Conduct”, Saini mentioned in his tweet.
We are an education platform that is deeply committed to imparting quality education. To do this we have in place a strict Code of Conduct for all our educators with the intention of ensuring that our learners have access to unbiased knowledge.
Our learners are at the centre of…
— Roman Saini (@RomanSaini) August 17, 2023
Expressing displeasure over the decision, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a tweet posted on X wrote, “Is it a crime to appeal to educated people to vote? If someone is illiterate, personally I respect him. But people’s representatives cannot be illiterate. This is the era of science and technology. Illiterate public representatives can never build the modern India of the 21st century.”
क्या पढ़े लिखे लोगों को वोट देने की अपील करना अपराध है? यदि कोई अनपढ़ है, व्यक्तिगत तौर पर मैं उसका सम्मान करता हूँ। लेकिन जनप्रतिनिधि अनपढ़ नहीं हो सकते। ये साइंस और टेक्नोलॉजी का ज़माना है। 21वीं सदी के आधुनिक भारत का निर्माण अनपढ़ जनप्रतिनिधि कभी नहीं कर सकते। https://t.co/YPX4OCoRoZ
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) August 17, 2023
What’s the whole matter
Recently the Central Government has introduced new bills to replace the IPC-CrPC made during the British era. These bills have been sent to the Parliament committee for review. Karan Sangwan who used to teach law at the Unacademy was angry about these bills.
In the viral video, Karan can be heard saying, “Even I don’t know whether to laugh or cry because I also have a lot of bare acts, caseloads, and notes that I had prepared. It is hard work for everyone. You also got a job at your hand.”
“But keep in mind one thing. Next time vote for someone well-educated so you don’t have to go through this (ordeal) again. Ok? Elect someone who is educated, who understands things. Don’t elect someone who only knows changing names. Make your decision properly,” he added.
After the video went viral several social media users alleged Karan Sangwan of spreading propaganda against the BJP government.
Karan releases video after termination
Karan Sangwan has not said much on this matter till now. However, he has started his YouTube channel. In his recent video, he mentioned that he will address the whole matter on August 19 at 8 pm. He said, “Because of this many of my students preparing for judicial services are facing difficulties. I am also facing many problems. How did that controversy start? Why did it start? I will discuss all the details on my YouTube channel on August 19.”