IIT exam row resolved

Only top 20 percentile holders eligible for admission

Ending the logjam over the government’s “one nation, one examination” proposal, the IIT council has decided that only the top 20 percentile holders in their respective school boards will be entitled to admissions to the premier technical institutions on the basis of their final all India ranking in the joint entrance examination.

Acceding to the demands of a section of IIT faculties and alumni opposing the proposed test, the council on Wednesday agreed that no weightage would be given to school board marks to be normalised on a percentile basis through a formula, developed by Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, for the selection of candidates in IITs.

Students, thus, will have to toil harder for both their class XII board examination and the entrance test. Those securing less than 78 per cent marks in the CBSE board examination may not qualify for admissions to IITs, according to sources in the HRD Ministry.

The entrance test will be conducted in two parts—JEE-Main and JEE-Advance in 2013. Of all those taking JEE-Main, the top 1.5 lakh candidates from “all categories” would be screened for appearing in JEE-Advance on the basis of their performance in the first test.

“Admissions to the IITs will be based only on category wise all India rank in JEE Advance subject to condition that such candidates are in top 20 percentile of successful candidates of their respective school boards,” chairman of the board of governors (BOG) of IIT-Madras M M Sharma, who presided over the council’s meeting, said.

Sibal skips meeting

Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal, the chairperson of the council, skipped the meeting and left it to the council members to brief media about their decision. Sibal, who faced sharp criticism from a section of IIT faculties over the format of the proposed joint entrance test approved by the council in its previous meeting, wanted to send a message that he had no personal interest in the matters of the IITs and their council, sources said.

“It’s a way forward to end the logjam,” Sibal, however, later said.
Expressing confidence that the decision of the council should end the logjam, Sharma said that the Senates of the IIT- Kanpur and IIT-Delhi, who were opposed to the proposed entrance test and even passed a resolution to hold their own entrance test, have agreed to the new format for the selection of students to premier institutions.

“We have already discussed it with those who were opposing the proposed test. They have agreed to this (new test format), he said. The autonomy of the IITs will be “fully maintained”, the HRD Ministry’s higher education department secretary Ashok Thakur added.

The JEE-Advance test will conducted “three-four weeks” after the JEE Main, IIT-Kanpur Director Sanjay Dhande said. “The JEE-Advance will have an exclusive Joint Admission Board and Joint Implementation Committee with the same composition as at present. The JAB and JIC will also coordinate with the organising body responsible for coinducting JEE-Main,” Sharma said.

The council advised the JAB to constitute a group for coordination with council of board of school education (COBSE) so as to educate the students and public at large about the percentile versus percentage approach being adopted for admissions to IITs. It requested the JAB to submit a report of the group within four months.

Although, the weightage to board marks normalised on percentile basis through a formula will not be considered for admission to IITs, it will continue to exist for the selection of the candidates for their admissions to other centrally funded technical institutes as had been approved by the joint councils of IITs, NITs and IIITs.