IIT-Roorkee takes back 18 expelled students

IIT-Roorkee has taken back all the 18 students, belonging to socially backward castes, who were recently expelled for underperformance in their first year B Tech examination, days after the Union HRD Ministry asked the institute to reconsider its decision. The decision was taken by IIT-Roorkee's Senate after a marathon six-hour meeting last night, Dean (Academics) Pramod Agarwal said.

"All the 18 students who were expelled earlier have been taken back. Their humble family background is what prompted us to give them another chance to prove their merit," he said.

Eleven students were expelled by the institute last month for scoring less than the mandatory five CGPA. But, one of them was taken back later on humanitarian grounds as he was suffering from a physical disability. Eight more students were expelled earlier this month.

Some of the expelled students had approached the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development seeking its intervention in the matter following which the latter requested the institute to reconsider its decision. Last year too IIT-Roorkee had sent home 72 students on the same ground, out of which 64 were taken back later.