Britain's largest teaching union, the National Education Union (NEU), has distanced itself from an open letter that initially supported academic Jason Arday amidst allegations of plagiarism. Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the NEU, had previously signed the letter on the Good Law Project website, which claimed the accusations against the former Cambridge University academic were part of a "smear campaign" and "entirely false."
However, the NEU clarified that Kebede signed the letter based on the information available at the time. In light of subsequent developments, the union now believes a new statement appealing for a "fair and transparent investigation" is warranted, emphasizing Arday's right to due process. "As a trade unionist, Daniel Kebede fundamentally believes that where questions are raised about an individual's professional conduct, that person has a right to due process," an NEU spokesman stated.
The developments follow an investigation launched by Cambridge University last week after academics accused Arday of copying others' work and fabricating previous academic posts. Arday has since resigned from his Cambridge post, citing the "personal cost" of the controversy, and canceled promotional events for his upcoming memoir, "Great and Unfortunate Things."
Three academics, Sonita Alleyne, Sir Simon Philip Baron-Cohen, and Ricardo Sabates Aysa, have had their names removed from the open letter. Kebede, who has a history of championing anti-racist activism, remains listed as a signatory.
Further scrutiny has come from former students. An anonymous former student of Arday's at Roehampton University wrote for Unherd, detailing experiences of poor teaching, frequent lateness, and alleged accusations of "white privilege" when she questioned her grade. The former student claimed Arday "often arrived late and left early" and that lectures provided little substance, with rambling anecdotes about rapper Eminem. When she raised concerns about a low mark, the student wrote that Arday became "angry, but also scared" and implied she was racist due to her "white privilege."
Separately, internet users have accused Arday of plagiarizing the title of his book from a 2010 television series episode. The University of Roehampton stated that it had reviewed its student casework records from Arday's tenure as a senior lecturer from September 2017 to February 2019 and identified no complaints against him during that period.