The electron temperature gradient driven electromagnetic-drift waves and associated instabilities and electron thermal diffusion in a magnetized plasma have been investigated by employing kinetic ion and fluid electron responses. A new dispersion relation has been derived analytically and studied numerically. Two broad classes of unstable fluctuations, namely ‘low’ and ‘high’ frequency unstable modes, have been identified and studied in detail. The instabilities of these modes and associated electron thermal diffusion coefficients are also estimated. The results of our theoretical model can be considered as a plausible explanation for experimentally observed fluctuations in Burke et al. (2000a Phys. Plasmas7, 1397).