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New Delhi, June 26: Human resource development minister Kapil Sibal would be bracing for a tough session tomorrow when he tries to hammer out a solution on a proposed single entrance two-tier exam for aspiring engineers.
IIT faculty, directors and alumni associations have taken contrary positions on the proposal, with teachers of the premier tech schools accusing the Union ministry of political interference.
While faculty members are against a proposal to give weightage to marks obtained in board exams, some directors are comfortable with the suggestion but have found flaws in a revised plan for the single entrance test.
The revised plan, proposed by the Joint Admission Board (JAB), is there would be no weightage to board marks for admission to IITs. Students will have to clear the two-tier test and be among the top 20 percentile holders in their respective boards.
Ahead of tomorrow’s meeting, a director of one of the premier tech schools has questioned the need for the first round of the proposed two-part test since their fate would be decided by the second-round JEE-Advanced exam.
“What is the point of making students take the JEE-Main exam if we are going to have a JEE-Advanced test on a separate day,” he said.
Making students appear for two tests, he added, would increase their stress.
The JAB, made up by all the IIT directors, has said that all students, whether they are seeking admission to the IITs or any other centrally funded technical institution, will have to sit for the JEE-Main.
About 1.5 lakh students will be short-listed, based on their performance in the JEE-Main, provided they are among the top 20 percentile holders in their boards. These short-listed candidates will sit for the JEE-Advanced, to be held after the Main results are out.
IIT Ropar director M.K. Surappa said the IISc, Bangalore, when it offered BTech courses between 1960 and 1990, gave weightage to marks obtained in board exams and graduation, apart from performance in the entrance. “That course was very popular and produced good engineers those days.”
IIT-Delhi Alumni Association president Somnath Bharti has appealed to the HRD ministry to defer any change in the existing JEE till 2014.
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