Former IIT Director Proposes Making Five-Year BTech Program Standard

UPDATE - follow-up to Former IIT director suggests 5-year BTech, flexible exit option to ease student burden: V Ramgopal Rao, currently Group Vice-Chancellor at BITS Pilani and former IIT Delhi director, has proposed restructuring the BTech program into a five-year default format to help students cope with academic stress and diverse learning backgrounds. The suggestion follows protests at IIT Bombay over academic pressure and student welfare following a student's death. Rao notes that classrooms feature wide gaps in student backgrounds, with JEE Advanced ranks in computer science ranging from single digits to five digits, alongside language differences and heavy reliance on coaching. Under the proposed model, students could still finish in three-and-a-half or four years if they meet credit requirements, while those needing extra time could spread coursework across five years with added support like recorded lectures and language help. Rao argues this removes the stigma of falling behind by making the longer duration a standard part of the program design. While the National Education Policy 2020 allows multiple entry and exit points, various IITs already have different exit routes. IIT Bombay offers a three-year BSc Engineering exit after 160 credits, IIT Delhi introduced diploma exits and branch changes in 2023, IIT Madras provides flexible online BS exits, and IIT Kanpur offers double majors and minors without regular undergraduate exit options.