Percentile Norm May Be Middle Path
A middle ground that can end the standoff between the IITs and the government over changes in the entrance format to the top tech schools could be at hand with the clause of 50% weightage to class XII board exam scores being replaced by an eligibility cutoff at the top 20 or 30 percentile of board results.
The percentile criterion, which will decide whether a candidate can take a shot at the entrance test, along with one’s performance in the JEE-main will be used to select around 50,000 students. Thereafter, their scores in an advanced test will be taken into account to prepare a merit list for admission to IITs.
The proposal was discussed at a Joint Admission Board (JAB) meeting on Saturday. The board includes all the IIT directors and JEE chairmen, and is seen as a precursor to the IIT Council meeting on June 27. The much-criticized decision for a Common Entrance Test (CET) for all central engineering colleges had also been taken by the Council.
If accepted and endorsed by the IIT Council, the new plan will bring to an end the month-long row over the CET for central engineering institutions and ensure students need to sit for only one test. The IITs’ complaint that their autonomy was being eroded would also be addressed.
The specially convened Council meeting will take place after the senates of the Kanpur and Delhi IITs declared they would hold their own test, rejecting the CET decision as academically unsound. There are strong reasons to believe the senates of Bombay and Kharagpur could follow suit.
The new alternative, discussed by the IIT directors, met with near unanimity since it addresses the IIT Council and the HRD ministry’s concerns about giving primacy to the school system. Sources said the new formula has been informally discussed by various senates who appear to be on board.
A middle ground that can end the standoff between the IITs and the government over changes in the entrance format to the top tech schools could be at hand with the clause of 50% weightage to class XII board exam scores being replaced by an eligibility cutoff at the top 20 or 30 percentile of board results.
The percentile criterion, which will decide whether a candidate can take a shot at the entrance test, along with one’s performance in the JEE-main will be used to select around 50,000 students. Thereafter, their scores in an advanced test will be taken into account to prepare a merit list for admission to IITs.
The proposal was discussed at a Joint Admission Board (JAB) meeting on Saturday. The board includes all the IIT directors and JEE chairmen, and is seen as a precursor to the IIT Council meeting on June 27. The much-criticized decision for a Common Entrance Test (CET) for all central engineering colleges had also been taken by the Council.
If accepted and endorsed by the IIT Council, the new plan will bring to an end the month-long row over the CET for central engineering institutions and ensure students need to sit for only one test. The IITs’ complaint that their autonomy was being eroded would also be addressed.
The specially convened Council meeting will take place after the senates of the Kanpur and Delhi IITs declared they would hold their own test, rejecting the CET decision as academically unsound. There are strong reasons to believe the senates of Bombay and Kharagpur could follow suit.
The new alternative, discussed by the IIT directors, met with near unanimity since it addresses the IIT Council and the HRD ministry’s concerns about giving primacy to the school system. Sources said the new formula has been informally discussed by various senates who appear to be on board.
JEE-main, advanced tests to be held on different days?
The HRD minister-led IIT Council had announced on May 28 that admission to IITs will be based on a new format replacing the 60% cutoff for school marks, with a 50:50 weightage for the class XII score and the JEEmain performance.
The merit list for the IITs was to be based on the test. The formula for centrally funded engineering institutions, including NITs and IIITs, was 40% weightage to Class XII score and 30% weightage each for JEE-main and the advanced test.
Significantly, the IITs’ Joint Admission Board deliberations on Saturday come on the back of HRD minister Kapil Sibal’s statement that he was willing to look at any solution that the IITs come up with. Sibal has, however, reiterated that the new test will be implemented from 2013.
Among the other changes that were discussed was holding the main and advanced tests on separate days to address the apprehension raised by some quarters that it would lead to undue pressure if held on the same day.
The IIT Council — the highest decision making body that includes the directors of all 16 IITs, heads of educational bodies like UGC and AICTE and board of governors — will have to approve the decision.
Sources said the IIT Council would also deliberate on whether it has the powers to take decisions regarding academic matters. The Council’s decision and consequently its powers have been challenged by the Kanpur and Delhi senates over the last few weeks.
The otherwise belligerent All India IIT Faculty Federation, too, appeared to have softened, expressing a desire to reach an amicable solution. In a statement, the Federation said, “We appreciate that the minister has called an IIT Council meeting on 27 June, 2012, to address the concerns of the IIT community. Through this process of discussion and engagement, we are confident that an amicable solution will emerge that would be acceptable to all, without compromising on the IITs autonomy.”
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