Tutor Fired Over "Vote For Educated" Remark, Arvind Kejriwal Responds

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday questioned ed-tech platform Unacademy's decision to terminate the employment of one of its tutors for urging students to vote for "educated candidates" in elections. 

Unacademy fired Karan Sangwan who during a lecture, without taking any names, appealed to students to not put uneducated people in positions of power and vote for a literate person in the upcoming elections. The ed-tech company in its statement said that it does not allow teachers to share their personal opinions in the classroom as it can be disruptive to learning.

"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," Chief Minister Kejriwal wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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

Mr Sangwan said he will share details about the controversy on his YouTube channel on Saturday. 

"From the past few days a video has been going viral due to which I am in controversy and because of that controversy my several students who are preparing for judicial services examinations are facing a lot of consequences. Along with them I have to also face consequences," he said.

Unacademy co-founder Roman Saini said that Mr Sangwan violated the terms of his contract, which required him to remain impartial in the classroom. As a result, the company was forced to terminate his employment.

"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," Mr Saini wrote on X.

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

The sacking of Mr Sangwan triggered condemnation from academicians and the general public alike, with "#UninstallUnacademy" trending on X.