Drop-Out Rates On A Rise In IITs, 63 Students Fail in 2014-15: Irani

A total of 63 students have failed in Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in the academic session 2014-15. The number was disclosed by the Human Resource Development (HRD) Minster, Smriti Irani in Lok Sabha on December 21. Irani provided this information in response to a written question in Lok Sabha about whether students have been expelled from various IITs on the grounds of poor performance.

"The IITs have a rigorous academic system that prescribes minimum grades to be obtained by the students for continuation in the IIT system. During the year 2014-15, a total of 63 students in undergraduate courses have failed to secure the prescribed minimum grade in 6 IITs," Irani said.

Here is the category wise number of students who have failed in the academic year 2014-2015:

• General category: 8
• OBC: 9
• Scheduled Caste (SC): 30
• Scheduled Tribe (ST): 16

Earlier, during Monsoon session of the Parliament, Irani highlighted the drop-out rates of IITs. The total drop-out was on a rise in 2014-2015 with 757 drop-outs as compared to 697 drop-outs in 2013-2014. IIT Roorkee witnessed the highest number of dropouts at 228. While IIT Kharagpur and IIT Delhi witnessed 209 and 169 drop-outs respectively.

"The IIT Council has discussed the matter and implemented a system called Peer group Assisted Learning (PAL) to handhold students who are socially and educationally backward," she added.

A controversy was sparked in July when IIT Roorkee expelled 73 students whose performance was not up to the mark after their first-year of the B.Tech programme. However, the students were re-admitted on academic probation, wherein they will have to repeat the year and will be bound to clear again all the courses of both autumn and spring semesters of the first year, besides maintaining a minimum attendance of 75 per cent in every subject.

PTI