IIT Roorkee expels 73 students for underperformance

Dehradun/New Delhi: 73 students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee have been expelled for underperformance by the management on Wednesday. These students were in their first year of the B.Tech course in the institute.

The director of the institute, Pradipta Bannerjee said, "73 students who scored lower than five cumulative grade point average (CGPA) in the second semester were expelled from the institute as per a decision of the Senate consisting of over 100 professors."

In order to ensure quality education, a rule that mandates expulsion of students scoring less than five CGPA for two consecutive semesters was framed last year.

Earlier, the students were issued expulsion notices, after which parents and students approached officials asking them to reconsider. According to reports, the management considered all aspects before taking the final decision.

Officials at the institute say that students had been warned about their dipping grades in May this year. Parents had been made to sign a declaration that poor performance of students could lead to expulsion at the time of admission.

The Human Resource Development ministry has maintained silence over the incident. Sources in the ministry say that expulsions from IITs have happened in the past also, though the number has never been as large.