University takes action as Canada professor threatens to fail student caught up in Myanmar

A Canadian professor at York University, Ontario has come under scrutiny after he threatened to fail a student caught in the Myanmar coup. The professor dismissed a request for deferral of examination by a student who was struggling with the internet blackout by the military Junta amid the ongoing civil disobedience movement in the Southeast Asian country. The said professor denied the student requests of postponing the exam even as his worried student cited the inconvenience that he had no access to the wifi due to the political crackdown and civil unrest nationwide. 

Screenshots of the conversation of the professor in denial and the panicked student went viral on social media. The Canadian tutor, Emmanoil Theodorescu refused to “believe” that the international student enrolled at the university was facing genuine issues. In the email, the student explained that communication in his country was snapped by the military coup leaders and that there were days of a total internet blackout. The professor, however, callously responded: Even the internet came down with Covid-19? The outraged student then elaborated, “The internet did not come down with Covid-19. There was a military coup where I am living and almost 200 protesters have been shot as of now. The regime has decided to shut off all communications by tomorrow,” the student wrote. 

International students from Myanmar have reported challenges due to timely internet restrictions, and connectivity dipped to as low as 50 percent some days, according to an analysis by the internet monitoring service Netblocks. Reports of frequent internet disruptions by the Myanmar army during the crackdown on the protesters have been confirmed by Myanmar's state-owned Myanma Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) and Telenor, an international operator. The Military Junta has also resorted to blocking access to Facebook and other social media sites to deter anti-coup protesters from congregating. There have been reports of a ban on VPN services, and an international IP Observatory, which tracks internet connectivity worldwide even reported that some regions in Myanmar, such as Magaway had zero internet connectivity at one point during the civil unrest. 

However, when the Myanmar student clarified with the Canadian teacher if he shall be concerned about missing the exam and there shall be no relaxation despite  the internet issues whatsoever, the professor replied, saying “of course you should.” He continued, “The next time you miss something, it’s over,” adding “By the way, your remarks (both related to this course and to your home country) made me wonder how you understand reality.” Furthermore, the professor argued, “People don’t get shot for just protesting, but for a lot deeper reasons.” 

York university issues apology

After the screenshot of the conversation went viral on social media and caused a backlash, Canada’s York University issued a statement, saying that it “updated response to a serious student accommodation matter”. It added, “There was a recent communication between a Department of Mathematics & Statistics instructor and a student that does not reflect those values.” The university furthermore, apologised as it expressed support for the student’s difficult circumstance and well-being. It informed that the “appropriate actions” were immediately initiated against the professor.