IIT Kharagpur abolishes ‘branch change’ option available to undergraduate students

IIT Kharagpur has announced that it has scrapped the option available to undergraduate students to switch departments at the end of the first year on the ground that the system was causing stress to the students.

At the IIT, a student who scored a CGPA (cumulative grade point average) of at least 8.5 in the two semesters of the first year became eligible to change his or her branch of study.

“A student of mechanical engineering could opt for electrical or computer science engineering, considered better departments than mechanical, if his or her CGPA is 8.5 or more in the two semesters of the first year,” said a professor at IIT Kharagpur.

“We could see half the students in a particular department vying for a change. Since the number of seats for branch change was limited, often that would lead to unhealthy competition. Students who failed to change the branch of study would feel depressed. Considering all these, the branch change option has been abolished.”

The IIT said in a press release: “The branch change option at the end of the first year for UG students admitted through JEE (Advanced) is abolished. This is done to reduce the level of stress some students undergo to secure higher grades for branch change and availability of the option.

“Less than 10 per cent of the students manage to change their branch every year, leaving the remaining 90 per cent students dejected who undergo depression, sometimes resulting in serious mental health issues and poor performance in the subsequent semesters. The announcement of this new measure has been overwhelmingly welcomed by the existing students as well.”