CHENNAI: A product test conducted on students of Vana Vani Matriculation Higher Secondary School run by IIT-M on its campus sparked a controversy as parents said their consent was not obtained prior to the test. After an inquiry, IIT-M removed school principal M Sathishkumar from the post.
Some parents complained that on Aug 19, the students were made to wear a ‘smart insole’ inside their shoes and a smartwatch, and they were asked to cover a distance by jumping. The test was conducted by IIT-M faculty and students. “We suspect they took the endurance test to develop a sports-related product. They should have got the consent from parents and students as per the Indian Council for Medical Research’s (ICMR) ethical guidelines to perform any test on humans,” said a parent on condition of anonymity.
IIT-M formed a fact-finding committee to inquire into the incident. “The initial preliminary study was conducted on Aug 19 at Vana Vani School to understand the feasibility of a cost-effective smart insole assembled using commercially viable items. Neither clinical trials nor any medical-related device trials were conducted,” IIT-M said on Wednesday.
“The assembled smart insoles were placed inside students’ shoes to study the ease of walking (the study lasted less than 10 minutes for each student) which had no contact with the human body. Along with the insole, a commercially assembled smartwatch was used to collect the data separately. According to the faculty, this was just a feasibility test and not a clinical trial, and hence it may not require permission from parents,” it further said, stressing that no invasive procedure was performed and no liquid or solids were administered to any of the students during the study.
“This has been viewed seriously by the school management and the principal was replaced. The faculty of IIT-M was also warned and administrative action will be taken for not ascertaining that permission from parents was obtained before the feasibility test. The feasibility study was immediately stopped on August 19,” the IIT-M statement said.
Meanwhile, in a letter to parents, Vana Vani School Secretary Raman Kumar, who is also assistant registrar, finance and accounts, IIT-M, said the findings of the committee established that no stimulants were provided to the students during the test, nor were any invasive procedures performed.
“Hence, there is no implication of this test on the health of students,” he said. However, the school and faculty were strongly advised that they must take prior permission from parents before any test is conducted in the future, he said.
The school education department also conducted an inquiry. The district education officer has summoned parents and school management representatives for an inquiry on Dec 6.