Council of IITs approves 3-year exit option for weak students with BSc in Engineering

The council for Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), chaired by Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank', approved the proposal on Friday. However, it has been left to the individual IITs to work out the modalities

Indian Institute of technology, iit engineering courses, IIT plan for weak students, HRD minister, Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank', Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank'

The country’s premier engineering institute, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), will now permit academically weak students to exit early after three years with a B.Sc degree in Engineering.

The council for Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), chaired by Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, approved the proposal on Friday, September 27, 2019. However, it has been left to the individual IITs to work out the modalities.

“Academically weak students, who are not able to secure the required credits for promotion to the next semester may be allowed an exit option with a degree programme after second semester, rather than being forced out of the programme,” a senior HRD Ministry official told PTI. “Individual IITs will decide modalities for this,” the official added.

Currently, students enrolled in undergraduate programmes across all IITs are awarded a B.Tech degree after completing eight semesters or four years. However, students with weak grades drop out midway.

“Now the academically weak students will be able to choose B.Sc degree after the second semester and leave after three years, provided they have met the minimum academic standards,” the official said.

According to data shared by the HRD Ministry in Parliament this year, 2,461 students dropped out of different IITs in the last two years across B.Tech and post-graduate programmes. These include cases of expulsion on account of weak academic performance. For instance, this year, IIT-Kanpur expelled 18 students on the grounds of poor grades, of which half were B.Tech students.

An estimated 9 lakh students take each cycle of the JEE (main) that’s held twice a year — just about 13,500 get an IIT seat.