Indian student sues Oxford University for 'boring' teaching

Faiz Siddiqui told the court he could not become an established international commercial lawyer because of his low grades.

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A former Indian student at Oxford University is suing the university for "borning" teaching,  The Sunday Times reported.

Faiz Siddiqui alleged this resulted in him getting a second class degree from Oxford University which ultimately led to loss of earnings for him.

Mr Siddiqui is a lawyer by profession now.

Mr Siddiqui, who studied modern history at Brasenose College, told the High Court in London that the University’s staff was ‘negligent’ in teaching him his specialist subject, Indian imperial history.

This led to him getting a 2:1 back in 2000.

Mr Siddiqui's barrister Roger Mallalieu told the judge that the problem came down to four of the seven staff teaching Asian history. He said they were on sabbatical leave at the same time during the 1999-2000 academic year.

Mr Siddiqui believes he couldn’t become an established international commercial lawyer because of his lower grades.

He has singled out the "boring" standard of teaching from David Washbrook, an expert on the history of southern India between the 18th and 20th centuries.

Mr Mallalieu told the court – “Our target is on the University's back for allowing this to happen."

Mr Siddiqui, the court was told, now suffers from depression and insomnia.

He links this to his "disappointing examination results."

On the other hand, the Oxford University has argued that the claim is baseless.

They have asked it to be struck out because of the number of years that have passed since Mr Siddiqui graduated.

Julian Milford, Oxford University's barrister, said Mr. Siddiqui's case had  no substance.

A judgement is expected later this month.


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