IIT-D revokes expulsion of two SC students

CASTE CAULDRON: The IIT expelled 20 students including 11 from SC and one from the ST category.

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Keywords: Caste Quota, Reservation

New Delhi: The Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi has revoked the controversial termination order of three students, including two Schedule Caste students.

The development follows the expelled SC students complaining to the National Commission SCs and STs that the institute was discriminating on the basis of caste.

The IIT expelled 20 students including 11 from SC and one from the ST category, citing unsatisfactory academic performance.

IIT says this is a norm with underperforming students and there were no casteist undertones to it. IIT said a standing committee examines the performance of each student and those failing to earn the required number of credits in that year are asked to leave.

All the expelled students claim that they have been discriminated against as they belong to the SC community.

They say that instead of the extra coaching that they were to receive, they were diverted to extra curricular activities.

A student also alleged that a professor at the institute told him said he wasn't doing well in his studies because he was from the SC/ST category.

The institute’s Deputy Director, Prof Bijendra Jain, had rejected the allegations and insisted that the students were asked to leave solely because of their poor performance.

"If certain students cannot perform then we cannot have them," said Jain

Interestingly, the institute has never asked so many students to leave because of poor performance.

Jain said IIT-Delhi does its best to help all students in their studies. "Before they enter IIT-Delhi, SC/ST students receive coaching in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. At the end of every semester and sometimes in the middle of semesters we monitor the progress of all students."