The removal of the branch change option for their students has lately been announced by a number of famous Indian institutions, including IIT Bombay, IIT Hyderabad, and 17 National Institutes of Technology (NITs). Within the academic community and among students, this choice has provoked discussions and disagreements. We will examine the motivations behind this decision, its potential repercussions, and what it means for the future of technical education in India in this blog post.
The stringent admissions procedures and high academic requirements at IITs and NITs are well-known. Up until recently, changing one’s field of study after the first year was one option that gave students flexibility. This made it possible for students who might have changed their minds or found new interests to modify their academic path accordingly.
However, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Bombay, and a number of NITs have now withdrawn this flexibility. Many people were surprised by the decision, which begs the issue of why it was made.
The Motives for the Decision
Upholding academic rigour and specialisation is one of the main justifications offered for this choice. These schools strive to ensure that students are dedicated to their chosen subjects from the start by limiting branch change possibilities, thereby developing specialists in their respective fields.
Branch changes frequently result in resource waste, such as vacant desks in some departments and the requirement for more faculty. Institutes aspire to more effectively utilise their resources by removing this option.
Indian institutions think that developing knowledge in particular disciplines is essential for competing on a global level. A step towards generating graduates who can flourish in specialised fields is restricting branch changes.
The lower branch IIT entrance cutoff has started to rise as a result of this shift. It used to be that students who preferred the core branches of the top IITs would even enrol in lower branches than the core branches so that, after a year, they might upgrade to the core branch of their choice. Since there existed a branch change option, students used to choose their branch based on their CGPA. However, this option is no longer available for the top IITs and the other 17 top NITs.
The cut-off for lesser branches at the best IITs was historically relatively low because of the opportunity for branch change. Students increasingly prefer lower branches of other renowned IITs because IIT Hyderabad and IIT Bombay no longer offer the ability to change branches. IIT Bombay’s Chemical, Civil, Mechanical, Metallurgy, Environmental Science, and Aerospace Engineering divisions are being cut off more frequently as a result.
If other IITs likewise eliminate the option of a branch shift, students will choose to enrol in lower IITs. Students may prefer to enrol in core IIT branches like Goa or Bhilai because there are greater employment opportunities in core branches.
