IITs mull reverting to single entrance test format

Source: Hindustan Times

The IITs could soon revert to a single entrance test system from a two-step process introduced in 2012 as part of the previous UPA government’s examination reforms, in a bid to cut selection delays and administrative hassles.

The two-phase entrance test that comprises the JEE (main) and the IIT-JEE (advanced) came up for discussion at a meeting of the joint admission board on Sunday and a committee was formed to review the system.

“The joint admission board decided to form a committee that will review the two-stage examination process and make recommendations for consideration of the IIT senates,” Devang V Khakhar, director of IIT-Bombay and a member of the joint admission board, told HT.

Another official said most of the IITs were in favour of a single entrance examination conducted exclusively for the premier technical institutes.

Under the two-phase test introduced in 2012, the JEE (main) is the first stage that also forms the basis for selection to the NITs, IIITs and centrally funded technical institutions. Those who clear this test appear for the JEE (advance) conducted exclusively for the IITs.

“The idea behind conducting a two-phase examination was that it would screen out the non-serious students in the first phase and thus lessen the burden of the IITs in selecting candidates,” an IIT professor said.

However, the system made the entire process time-consuming and cumbersome and has also became a hassle for students, he added.

If the system is done away with, it will be another UPA-introduced decision on examination reforms scrapped by the NDA government.

Earlier, the controversial percentile system that governed students’ eligibility for admission to the IITs was changed in September last year. The system required successful candidates to be among the top-20 percentile scorers in the Class 12 exams of their respective boards.

The government changed the criterion to ‘‘top 20 percentile or 75% marks in the state board examination, whichever is lower’’ for a seat in the IITs.