Indian Student Alleges "Racial Bias" After Being Removed from Oxford University PhD Program

Lakshmi Balakrishnan is to sue Oxford University for downgrading her PhD program to Master's program

Lakshmi Balakrishnan spent around £100,000 on the Oxford for PhD program expressed her displeasure for unjustified transfer to Master’s course.

Lakshmi Balakrishnan, a student from Madurai, Tamil Nadu, has accused Oxford University of racial bias and unlawful removal from its PhD program in a high-profile issue that has caused controversy for the esteemed university.

After four years of research, Lakshmi Balakrishnan, who undertook a PhD in English literature, is of the view that her work was consciously downgraded to a master's level. She has since filed a suit for the same against the university.

According to Balakrishnan, Oxford's English faculty violated their end of the commitment. She argues that her demotion is an unreasonable rejection of the agreement because her PhD thesis proposal on Shakespeare was accepted before she enrolled in 2018. “It is actually a breach of contract because when I applied to Oxford, I clearly mentioned that my PhD thesis is going to be on Shakespeare,” Lakshmi told ANI.

Balakrishnan expressed her discomfort, saying she believed the organisation had misled her. "I feel a sense of betrayal and I feel like I have been let down by an institution that I held in high regard," she stated to the BBC.

She emphasised that she had already earned two master's degrees in India and had spent around £100,000 on the Oxford PhD program. Her statement, "I paid £100,000 at Oxford to get my PhD, not another master's course," highlighted her displeasure at being moved to a new academic level.

Her troubles began when two independent assessors failed her, arguing that her research did not meet the necessary scope for a PhD. Despite attempts to appeal the decision, Balakrishnan was unsuccessful.

She was registered at Queen's College, which wrote to the university expressing their concerns about how she was being treated. The college replied, "While the student failed her tests, her work had "no serious issues" and her study had "potential and supported merits a PhD” Balakrishnan's claims.