IIT Bombay data reveals 27 of 30 UG students opting for early exit belonged to SC, ST, or OBC
New Delhi: Data obtained from IIT Bombay reveals that in 2023, 27 out of 30 undergraduate students who opted for early exit were from Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), or Other Backward Classes (OBC). This early exit policy, introduced in 2023, allows students to leave BTech, dual degree, and BS programs with a "BSc Engineering" qualification.
IIT Bombay adopted the policy in 2023 , allowing early exit from BTech, BTech-MTech dual-degree, and BS programmes with the lower “BSc Engineering” qualification. As the data shows, there’s a disproportionate representation of Dalit, OBC and Adivasi students among those exercising this option of exiting without obtaining the main degree they would have taken admission for. Given below is the distribution undergraduate students to opt for exit in the first year, across categories.
The distribution of students by category was:
- General: 3
- OBC: 7
- SC: 8
- ST: 12
This policy, part of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, aims to provide flexibility in academic programs. However, the high number of exits among marginalized communities highlights ongoing challenges in higher education.
Since 2019, 312 postgraduate students at IIT Bombay have also exited early.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Child rape-murder: Hundreds protest on Mumbai-Bengaluru highway in Pune; traffic hit
Pune (PTI): Hundreds of people blocked the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway in Pune to protest the rape and murder of a four-year-old girl, leading to traffic disruption on the busy route for about four hours.
The girl's family members and other demonstrators placed the body on the road in the Navale Bridge area on Saturday evening and demanded stringent punishment for the 65-year-old man arrested in the case.
Several videos surfaced showing a huge traffic jam on the highway.
Later, the victim's last rites were performed at the Vaikunt crematorium here shortly after midnight amid tight police security.
The accused man, who works as a labourer and has a criminal record, allegedly lured the girl with the promise of food on Friday in the Bhor tehsil of Pune district. He then took her to a cattle enclosure where he allegedly sexually assaulted her and later killed her by hitting her with a stone, according to the police.
He was arrested based on CCTV footage from a private residence, which captured him with the child.
A case was registered against him under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and he has been remanded in police custody till May 7.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar on Saturday met the family of the victim, assuring them of strict action against the accused and a fast-track trial.
Describing the incident as "shocking" and a "blot on humanity", Pawar said the government stands firmly with the victim's family and will ensure justice.
She also spoke to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and sought a fast-track court trial so that the accused receives the harshest punishment.
Deputy CM Eknath Shinde directed Pune rural police to gather concrete evidence to build a watertight case and conduct the trial in a fast-track court.
Efforts should be made to ensure the accused gets the death penalty, a statement quoted Shinde as saying.
