Chintha admits to error in thesis, denies plagiarism in her work

The thesis incorrectly attributed Vazhakkula, a famous work of poet Changampuzha Krishna Pillai, to another well-known poet Vyloppilli Sreedhara Menon

State Youth Commission chairperson Chintha Jerome has admitted to the error in her doctoral thesis that had kicked up a controversy and fuelled public debate over the quality of academic publications. Addressing a press conference in Idukki on Tuesday, she termed it a ‘human error’ and thanked critics for pointing it out.

Ms. Jerome said the error had gone unnoticed by all the academicians who went through the thesis. She added that the mistake would be corrected when the thesis is published as a book. The thesis had incorrectly attributed Vazhakkula, a famous work of poet Changampuzha Krishna Pillai, to another well-known poet Vyloppilli Sreedhara Menon.

“I accept the criticism about the research paper with an open mind. The topic of the thesis was mentioned as an example and a mistake happened. I faced a lot of misogynistic comments on this issue,” she said.

Ms Jerome further said that the doctorate was years-long hard work and was described as plagiarism. “I never copied a single word in the thesis. It was prepared after referring many books and articles. The references were cited in the thesis”.

The dissertation on ‘Ideological Underpinnings in Select Malayalam Commercial Films of the Post-Liberation Era’ was submitted by Ms. Jerome for a doctorate in 2021.