At IIT Bombay, a student who had dropped out midway through his course, returned last year to complete his degree over a cumulative span of 12 years. Taking advantage of a provision to impart a certain degree of flexibility in learning outcomes, the student, who left his degree midway to launch his own start-up, came back to the engineering college to wrap up his degree. There are more such students, particularly from the rural and economically weaker backgrounds who are now doing this, including a large number of those who opted to take an early exit to support their families financially during challenging times. The key enabler here is the NEP-2020’s Multiple Entry and Multiple Exit (MEME) framework, which was aimed at promoting academic flexibility and reducing dropout rates by empowering students to pause and resume education based on their personal and professional needs. Currently, some 153 universities offer multiple entry options, benefiting thousands of undergraduate and postgraduate students. “Indeed, the flexibility offered under the MEME provision is being increasingly embraced by students across the country. A case of an IIT student returning to complete his degree after 12 years is a remarkable example. Similar stories are emerging from various other institutions, reflecting how transformative this policy truly is,” T G Sitharam, Chairman, AICTE, told The Indian Express. He said that this provision, in particular, is proving to be beneficial for students from rural and economically weaker backgrounds, “(They) are benefiting significantly. Many of them opt to take an early exit with a recognised certificate or diploma, enabling them to support their families financially during challenging times. Once their situation stabilises, they are able to rejoin their academic journey seamlessly—thanks to the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC), which allows them to store and retrieve previously earned credits across institutions,” Prof Sitharam said. He said that in effect, MEME eliminates the fear of losing an educational career due to unforeseen circumstances. “Students no longer feel compelled to drop out permanently due to emergencies like financial instability, health issues, or personal responsibilities. The system gives them the freedom to take a pause, explore job opportunities or skill development, attend to urgent matters, and return to the same or even a different institution to resume and complete their degree. This level of flexibility was previously unheard of in Indian higher education… AICTE continues to monitor and document such cases across the country as evidence of the maturing and student-centric direction Indian higher education is now heading towards,” he added.
