NITs SET TO GO IIT WAY

SOURCE:TELEGRAPH INDIA

The National Institutes of Technology may no longer give weightage to Class XII board marks while admitting BTech students from next year if the institutions and the government have their way.

An NIT director said the institutes, along with other centrally funded technical institutions (CFTIs) like the Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs), were more likely to admit students on the basis of their JEE Advanced score - like the IITs do.

"There will be no need for giving weightage to board marks," the director told this newspaper.

Under the existing system, the IITs admit students based on how they perform in the JEE Advanced, the second exam in the two-tier test after the CBSE-conducted JEE Main.

Over 12 lakh students appear for the JEE Main, but only the top two lakh are eligible to take the JEE Advanced.

While the IITs don't give weightage to board marks, aspirants need to score at least 75 per cent in their board exam or be among the top 20 percentile holders - irrespective of their performance in JEE Advanced - to be eligible for selection.

The NITs, IIITs and a few other engineering institutions - which don't follow any eligibility criteria but could introduce cut-offs once the weightage for board marks goes - have been admitting students on the basis of a 60:40 system. Under this system, 60 per cent weightage is given to the JEE Main score and 40 per cent to Class XII board marks.

The idea behind the weightage for board marks, introduced under the earlier government, was students would focus more on school education instead of private tuitions to crack entrance exams.

But two panels set up by this government, one headed by IIT Bombay director Devang Khakhar and another by Rajat Moona, director-general, Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, had recommended scrapping the weightage for board marks while admitting students to the NITs from 2016.

The Moona committee found that the percentage of students taking private coaching had increased after the system of giving weightage to board marks was introduced.

The HRD ministry then set up another panel, headed by IIT Roorkee chairman Ashok Misra. In its report submitted last November, this committee, too, said the weightage given to board marks now for NIT admissions should be scrapped and there should be one engineering entrance test, possibly from 2018.

But aspiring engineers, this panel said, should have to clear a SAT-like National Aptitude Test to be eligible to appear for the entrance exam.

Sources in the HRD ministry said there was agreement among the IITs and other CFTIs that from 2017, students should be admitted based on how they did in their JEE Advanced.

The NIT director this paper spoke to said the JEE Main was likely to stay in 2017, but as a filter for the JEE Advanced.

The Mishra committee suggested that the government set up a national testing service (NTS) as an independent body to conduct the aptitude test, modelled on the SAT, held for admissions to US colleges.

HRD ministry sources said the NTS might be set up this year and start operating from 2018. The aptitude tests, they added, might be held more than once every year so that students can improve their performance.

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.

Panel suggests withdrawal option after second round of IIT, NIT admission

SOURCE:TOI

 In the joint seat allocation process for admissions to IITs and NITs next year, the authority may allow admission withdrawal option once at the end of the second round. If recommendations made to the Joint Admission Board (JAB) are accepted, the process will undergo a few changes in 2016. 

Among others, the admission committee has also suggested that seats vacant in any course in IITs should be carried forward for admissions to the first year BTech programme the following year. This will mean, if three of the 110 seats are vacant in BTech computer science programme at IIT-Bombay this year for any reason, 113 seats will be made available for students in 2016. The recommendations were submitted in their final admission report submitted to the board last month. 

An official said that the joint seat allocation process was quite successful this year for IITs as less than 50 seats were vacant at the end of it. "But if all seats need to be filled in IITs and NITs, then we need to hold more rounds. For this, we will have to start the process early," he said. This year, IITs carried out three rounds of ad missions, while NITs had four. The admission process, however, could start only on July 1 after the CBSE submitted the Class XII scores of over 45 higher secondary education boards. "If 4-5 rounds are conducted, there is a possibility that all seats will be full. We also need to give students at least 1to 2 weeks between the last admission date and the joining date to ensure they get enough time to reach their respective campuses," said the official. Students this year also complained that there was no option to withdraw admission in the joint seat allocation process. While officials said seats were allotted to students on the basis of merit and their choices, students claimed that they were stuck with an unwanted seat once they made a wrong choice. "Giving withdrawal option after every round will complicate the process. So we suggested that students can be allowed to withdraw admission once at the end of the second round," said the official. 

Devang Khakhar, director of IIT-Bombay who was cochairman of JoSAA 2015, confirmed suggestions were made to the admission board but are yet to be accepted. IIT-Guwahati will represent IITs in JoSAA 2016 along with an NIT. 

Over 1 in 6 students drop out of IIT race after JEE (Main): TOI

More than one in six students eligible to appear for JEE (Advanced) for admission to the coveted IITs has preferred to drop out of the race. While lakhs of students appeared for the JEE (Main) exam with an eye on the IIT seat, 27,660 students who qualified for JEE (Advanced) either opted out of the process or might have missed the deadline to register for it. The cut-off for eligibility for JEE (Advanced) this year was 105. 

While there is no single reason this trend could be attributed to, professors say some of the fence-sitters may have qualified but avoided the gruelling process of appearing for another exam. An IIT-B professor said, "The IITs are yet to analyze the data of students who have not registered for JEE (Advanced). There could be many reasons for their decision." 

He added that 10 states, including Maharashtra, accept JEE (Main) scores for admissions to their own engineering institutions. 

"There will be quite a few students from these states whose main aim is to get into a leading engineering institution in the state and remain close to their family rather than go to the IITs. These students might have appeared for JEE (Main) to use their scores for admission in state institutions," he said. 

Another professor said some students who did not register for JEE (Advanced) might have secured seats in universities abroad. Others, he added, may have just made the grade and may have chosen not to go through the pressure of another competitive exam. 

Praveen Tyagi, from a coaching institute, said many students who were aware of their potential chose to drop out of the JEE (Advanced) despite qualifying for it. "They prefer focusing on other competitive exams which are not as difficult as those conducted by the IITs or are happy with the scores in JEE (Main) that will ensure a seat in the NITs," said Tyagi. 

Of the 1.52 lakh students who qualified in the JEE (Main) exam, around 1.24 lakh registered for the JEE (Advanced) to be held on May 24. The last day for registration was May 7. For the last two years, a two-tier exam has been conducted for admissions to IITs. The top 1.5 lakh students who qualify in the JEE (Main) are eligible to appear for JEE (Advanced). Last year, 1.27 lakh students registered for JEE (Advanced). The exam will be conducted by IIT-Bombay this year along with other IITs. This year, with the addition of four new IITs, over 10,000 seats are available for students to choose from. 



Students who qualified to appear for JEE (Advanced): 1.5 lakh (Girls: 28,104, Boys: 1.2lakh) 

Students who registered for JEE (Advanced): 1.2lakh 

Students who chose to opt of JEE (Advanced)/missed deadline: 27,660

Courtesy: Times of India

OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON NEW JEE

Summary record of discussion of meeting of 45th meeting of the IIT Council held on 27th June 2012

The meeting of the IIT Council started with a statement from Chairman, IIT Council, and Union Minister for HRD, Shri Kapil Sibal, being read out since he was not able to attend the meeting. The meeting was held under the Chairmanship of Professor M M Sharma, Member, IIT Council, Chairman Board of Governors of IIT Madras and Chairman of the Standing Committee of IIT Council. He requested Secretary of the Council to brief the Council about the developments so far related to the issue of Common Entrance Examination and its relation with respect to IIT entrance. Chairman Joint Admission Board (JAB) was requested to brief the Council about the recommendations of JAB meeting held on June 23, 3012. The recommendations of JAB can be summarized as follows: JEE ADVANCED examination will be held after JEE MAIN with a suitable time gap. Only the top 150,000 candidates (including all categories) in JEE MAIN will be qualified to appear in the JEE Advanced examination. Admissions to IITs will be based only on category wise All India Rank (AIR) in JEE ADVANCED subject to condition that such candidates are in the top 20 percentile of successful candidates of their Boards in applicable categories. JEE ADVANCED examination will have an exclusive Joint Admission Board (JAB) and Joint Implementation Committee (JIC) with the same composition as at present. The JAB and JIC will also coordinate with the organizing body responsible for conducting JEE MAIN. Based on the recommendations of JAB, the Council decided that the proposed plan for admission to IITs at the undergraduate level will be implemented for the year 2013. The Council advised JAB to constitute a group for coordination with COBSE (Council of Boards of School Education) so as to educate the students and public at large about the PERCENTILE versus PERCENTAGE approach being adopted by the Council. The Council requested JAB to submit a report of this committee within the next four months.