Panel to seek public opinion on single entrance test

 T Ramasami committee, which was set up last year to look into the issue, made a brief presentation of its draft recommendations in the ministry of human resource development on Thursday.

In its presentation, the committee was learnt to have proposed three different ways for conducting a single entrance test for admissions in engineering colleges including elite technical institutions like Indian Institute Technology (IITs).

Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal and directors of IIT-Kanpur, Delhi and Roorkee were present when the presentation was made by Ramasami.

Sources in the ministry said that there is a common consensus that there should be a single entrance test for admissions in engineering colleges but there is is yet to be a consensus on how specifically such test should be conducted.

Hence, it was decided that the committee should come up with its draft proposal in public domain, seeking opinion from all the stakeholders including students on the modalities suggested by it. A dedicated website may be created to put up the draft proposal of the committee and seek public opinion on it, sources in the ministry said.

Public opinion will be sought because the Ministry wants all the stakeholders including students to be on board before a final decision is taken on the issue of conducting a single entrance test, sources added.Sibal has been very keen on introducing a single national entrance test for admissions in engineering colleges since long but it could not be done .

At the IIT council meeting in September last year, seven of the 15 IITs had strongly objected to the proposal of conducting a single entrance test. Some of them were of the view that there should be provisions for add-on examinations in the case of premier technology institutions.

Noting that young aspirants suffer so much to succeed in multiple entrance tests and finally lose excitement in education itself, chairperson of the scientific advisory council to the prime minister CNR Rao has also recommended conducting a single examination at the national level for admissions in higher educational institutions.
If the recommendations of the Ramasami committee are accepted, it would benefit thousands of engineering aspirants in getting respite from taking multiple entrance tests.

About 150 entrance tests for admission in engineering colleges are conducted in the country by various state boards and institutions including IITs.