Move to make JEE common test for technical institutes welcomed

The Union government’s decision to make the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)-Main a pan-India test for all technical institutes from 2018 is seen as a welcome move which will reduce stress on students.

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) will make it mandatory for all institutions to accept JEE-Main scores for admissions.

Dr N V R Naidu, principal of M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology, welcomed the move but added that the state syllabi would have to be revised accordingly.

``When there is a National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for medical courses, why not a common exam for engineering? However, the syllabi for Class 12 or PU varies from state to state. To ensure that students have a level-playing field, the curriculum will have to be revised keeping the exam in mind,” he said.

JEE exams may be tougher than the state-level CET exams. If not revised, students’ performance will be affected, he said.

At present, students have to write multiple exams such as COMED-K and CET to get admission to private and government engineering colleges in the state. In addition, students also appear for JEE-Main and Advanced for entry to IITs and NITs.

With a common test, the stress on them will reduce. Balaveera Reddy, former vice chancellor of VTU said: “Students from rural areas will benefit because they will not have to travel from city to city to write exams. They will be spared of stress and travel.”

The number of exams should certainly be reduced, said Dr C P S Prakash, principal of Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering. “The Common Entrance Test (CET) conducted in Karnataka is a well-tested standard. They should use a similar pattern in the common examination,” he said. He also pointed out that every state releases the Class 12 results on different schedules and they need to be synchronised to make the admission process smooth for applicants.

Bharat Lal Meena, principal secretary for higher education department declined to comment.
DH News Service