The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) dealt a major blow to
HRD minister Kapil Sibal’s common entrance test plan by announcing on Thursday
that it would follow IIT Kanpur’s example and conduct its own entrance
examination next year.
The defiance of the country’s two premier tech schools will mean students will have to write one more exam, defeating the purpose of the new format that Sibal is keen to push through. It could have a spiraling effect on other IITs, with the IIT Bombay Senate expected to meet in the first week of July.
The IIT Delhi decision strengthens the Kanpur institute’s hands and if resistance to the HRD ministry snowballs further, it could jeopardize the ministry’s efforts to push the common test through, although the decisions of senates have to be approved by respective council and board of governors.
All IITs have been agitated by the ministry’s proposal to give weightage to class XII board exam marks and make the entrance test common for admission to all central engineering institutes. The formula is differentiated for IITs and non-IIT institutions in terms of weightages.
The ambitious plan to introduce a single entrance test for centrally funded engineering institutes, including NITs and IIITs, was expected to reduce the stress on students and make the exam more inclusive by incorporating the board exam but ended up raising a storm over the alleged erosion of IITs’ autonomy.
Rejecting the IIT Council decision for a CET as “attack on the autonomy of the IITs”, the IIT Delhi Senate said it would “conduct its own entrance examination in coordination with other IITs, if possible”.
Speaking after the meeting, All India IIT Faculty Federation secretary Prof A K Mittal said, “A unanimous decision was taken to reject the IIT Council decision of conducting a single entrance test. IIT Delhi will conduct its own exam.” A Senate member said, “The proposed (common) test is academically unsound and procedurally untenable.’’ He said the other IITs have been asked to reject the new system and side with IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur.
GROWING REVOLT
After IIT Kanpur, IIT Delhi senate rejects common entrance test, to conduct own entrance exam next year. IITD senate resolution says it will try to coordinate entrance exam with other IITs “to the extent possible”
IIT Bombay, Madras and Kharagpur are backing the CET to be held from 2013
Decision unfortunate: IIT Bombay
A resolution passed at the end of the meeting said the senate had decided that the next year’s test will be on the lines of JEE 2012. “For 2014 and beyond, the senate will set up a committee which will review and propose changes to the senate,” it said. The decision of the senate comes a day after Sibal reiterated that there was no going back from holding the single entrance test from next year.
Reacting to IIT Delhi’s decision, IIT Bombay board of governors chairman Dr Anil Kakodkar said, “If this has happened, it is unfortunate. The intention of the (IIT) council was to reduce the burden of students. But I hope we will be able to resolve this through discussion.”
The senior scientist pointed out that while IITs were premier institutes, there was a need to link the pool of BTech engineering students in IIT and other institutes. “China produces 10,000 engineering PhDs as does the US. Till some years ago, India produced only 1,000. We need to expand the pool of engineering graduates without diluting the quality,” he added, stressing focus on school education.
Faculty members, however, do not seem to be in the mood to listen. IIT Kanpur had early this month rejected the proposed CET, terming it “academically and methodically unsound”.
Times View
The clash of will between the education minister and various IITs is seriously hurting the interests of the students, whom both sides of the argument claim to be acting for. Whether the new examination system proposed by Sibal makes sense or not is at this point a secondary issue. What is important is to recognize that the uncertainty over what will finally happen is a matter of grave concern for aspirants to India’s premier engineering institutes. The pressure of competitive exams is severe enough without this element of uncertainty being added to it. The minister and the directors of various IITs should agree to any changes be put on hold for the time being. If and when they are able to agree on what changes, if any, are needed, they can make them having given applicants sufficient time to adjust.
The defiance of the country’s two premier tech schools will mean students will have to write one more exam, defeating the purpose of the new format that Sibal is keen to push through. It could have a spiraling effect on other IITs, with the IIT Bombay Senate expected to meet in the first week of July.
The IIT Delhi decision strengthens the Kanpur institute’s hands and if resistance to the HRD ministry snowballs further, it could jeopardize the ministry’s efforts to push the common test through, although the decisions of senates have to be approved by respective council and board of governors.
All IITs have been agitated by the ministry’s proposal to give weightage to class XII board exam marks and make the entrance test common for admission to all central engineering institutes. The formula is differentiated for IITs and non-IIT institutions in terms of weightages.
The ambitious plan to introduce a single entrance test for centrally funded engineering institutes, including NITs and IIITs, was expected to reduce the stress on students and make the exam more inclusive by incorporating the board exam but ended up raising a storm over the alleged erosion of IITs’ autonomy.
Rejecting the IIT Council decision for a CET as “attack on the autonomy of the IITs”, the IIT Delhi Senate said it would “conduct its own entrance examination in coordination with other IITs, if possible”.
Speaking after the meeting, All India IIT Faculty Federation secretary Prof A K Mittal said, “A unanimous decision was taken to reject the IIT Council decision of conducting a single entrance test. IIT Delhi will conduct its own exam.” A Senate member said, “The proposed (common) test is academically unsound and procedurally untenable.’’ He said the other IITs have been asked to reject the new system and side with IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur.
GROWING REVOLT
After IIT Kanpur, IIT Delhi senate rejects common entrance test, to conduct own entrance exam next year. IITD senate resolution says it will try to coordinate entrance exam with other IITs “to the extent possible”
IIT Bombay, Madras and Kharagpur are backing the CET to be held from 2013
Decision unfortunate: IIT Bombay
A resolution passed at the end of the meeting said the senate had decided that the next year’s test will be on the lines of JEE 2012. “For 2014 and beyond, the senate will set up a committee which will review and propose changes to the senate,” it said. The decision of the senate comes a day after Sibal reiterated that there was no going back from holding the single entrance test from next year.
Reacting to IIT Delhi’s decision, IIT Bombay board of governors chairman Dr Anil Kakodkar said, “If this has happened, it is unfortunate. The intention of the (IIT) council was to reduce the burden of students. But I hope we will be able to resolve this through discussion.”
The senior scientist pointed out that while IITs were premier institutes, there was a need to link the pool of BTech engineering students in IIT and other institutes. “China produces 10,000 engineering PhDs as does the US. Till some years ago, India produced only 1,000. We need to expand the pool of engineering graduates without diluting the quality,” he added, stressing focus on school education.
Faculty members, however, do not seem to be in the mood to listen. IIT Kanpur had early this month rejected the proposed CET, terming it “academically and methodically unsound”.
Times View
The clash of will between the education minister and various IITs is seriously hurting the interests of the students, whom both sides of the argument claim to be acting for. Whether the new examination system proposed by Sibal makes sense or not is at this point a secondary issue. What is important is to recognize that the uncertainty over what will finally happen is a matter of grave concern for aspirants to India’s premier engineering institutes. The pressure of competitive exams is severe enough without this element of uncertainty being added to it. The minister and the directors of various IITs should agree to any changes be put on hold for the time being. If and when they are able to agree on what changes, if any, are needed, they can make them having given applicants sufficient time to adjust.
Thanks Entranci :)
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