Karan Sangwan, the Unacademy teacher who was sacked after he appealed to students to vote for educated candidates during a class, has claimed that he did not mention any name or party and suspects that the institution removed him due to “political pressure”.
Unacademy, in a statement, said the classroom is not a place to share personal opinions and views. Unacademy co-founder Roman Saini said Sangwan was in breach of contract and therefore the company had to part ways with him.
After the sacking, in an interview to India Today, Sangwan claimed that he tried to speak to the top management of Unacademy but it said “we cannot do anything”. “I have been with Unacademy since 2021. My profile has been deleted. There may be political pressure,” Sangwan said.
Sangwan has started his own YouTube channel and announced that he will post details around the controversy on August 19.
“I had no idea that a clip would be made viral and portrayed in a wrong way. And the way it would be circulated on social media. I was misinterpreted,” India Today quoted Sangwan as saying.
Also Read: Who is Karan Sangwan, the educator sacked by Unacademy over viral video?
“I made a general statement. I can guide people in the right way. I want educated people. Education is not what people study in classrooms. What I have learnt in my class is what I am imparting,” Sangwan said.
Karan Sangwan’s video clip
In a video clip that went viral on X (formerly Twitter), Sangwan was heard asking the students to elect well-educated politicians. The educator was apparently discussing the recent bills tabled in Lok Sabha by the BJP-led union government to replace British-era IPC, CrPC and Indian Evidence Act. Lamenting that all the notes he had prepared on criminal laws became worthless, Sangwan says, “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.”
“Don’t forget, when you vote next time, vote for someone who is well-educated, so you don’t have to go through this (ordeal) again. Elect someone who is educated and understands things. Don’t elect someone who only knows changing names. Decide properly,” Sangwan is seen urging his students in the clip.
Sangwan, however, said he stands by his remarks as education plays a very important part in anyone’s life.
“I was trolled. I have been put in controversy. Unacademy has been put on the spot…Maybe they were under pressure because of which they sacked me,” he added.
Sangwan also said he didn’t make the statement in the Unacademy classroom, but on his YouTube channel ‘Legal Pathshala’, now renamed as Karan Sangwan.
What did Unacademy say?
Saini in a tweet on the matter said Unacademy is 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 said.
Political reactions
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal wondered whether asking people to vote for an educated person is a crime.
In a message posted on X. he said, “Is it a crime to appeal to vote for educated people? If someone is illiterate, personally I respect them. But public representatives cannot be illiterate. This is the era of science and technology. Illiterate public representatives can never build the modern India of 21st century.”
Y Sathish Reddy, chairman of Telangana state renewable energy development corporation, also posted on X, “With all due respect to #Unacademy, it is highly inappropriate to suspend a teacher who simply requested not to vote for illiterates. They are liable for a proper explanation! #UninstallUnacademy.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi wondered how does saying vote for literate politicians a biased opinion? “Doesn’t that opinion positively influence young minds? Shame if merely expressing this view gets you to take someone’s job, Unacademy,” she wrote on X.
“PS: Don’t understand why everyone felt Karan Sangwan, the professor’s opinion on educated leaders was about Mr. Supreme. Repeat of Kajol level trolling, but here it cost him his job,” she added.
