27 Jun 2012 10:05:19 IST
, Economic Times
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No common ground in sight regarding IIT admissions
Engineering Entrance
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HRD minister and IIT Council chairman Kapil Sibal is caught in a tight spot. If the government thought that reworking its "one nation, one examination" proposal to accommodate the concerns of protesting IIT faculty would resolve the imbroglio, then it is in for a surprise.
Now, some of the IIT directors are questioning the need to abandon the 2012 IIT-JEE if the proposal suggested by the Joint Admission Board (JAB), at its meeting on Saturday, is to be adopted. As per this proposal, only those students who score in the top 20 percentile of each board will be eligible to apply to the IITs, and admission will be on the basis of the JEE Advanced examination. The special meeting of the IIT Council, to be held on Wednesday, will discuss this proposal. In the formulation agreed to on May 28, the normalised class XII results and the JEE Main, in a 50:50 ratio, are to be used for shortlisting students. Sources said the JAB proposal gave no weightage to the Class XII board results. Since it suggests a system of shortlisting students by introducing an eligibility criteria - only those in the top 20 percentile can apply - the JEE Main is rendered useless.
Using the percentile approach some 1.5 lakh students will be shortlisted. Some IIT directors are questioning the need for JEE Main and even the need to migrate to a new system for admissions in 2013. A section is questioning the efficacy of making students appear for a three-hour exam, if it has little value in determining eligibility. Instead, this section is suggesting that the institutes should be allowed to conduct the JEE in the same pattern as it has done in 2012, with two changes. First, the eligibility for appearing in the IIT examination be changed from the current practice of 60% marks in the boards to a percentile rank. JAB will decide the cut-off rank after detailed examination. Second, counselling and seat allotment be held jointly with the National Institutes of Technology. This section acknowledges the need for change, but in the face of uncertainty, it suggests that JAB should begin the discussion on the post-2013 plans. This change could be set in motion from 2014. Meanwhile, sources indicated deep unease over the proposal to allow only those students who rank in the top 20 percentile of each board to be considered for admission to IITs.
Vriti Edustore
