IIT council meets to discuss proposal for single entrance test

The IIT council met here today against the backdrop of sustained opposition to the proposed single entrance test for admission to engineering programmes and is understood to have insisted on holding the test from 2014 instead of next year.

The council, which met under the chairmanship of HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, is also understood to have discussed the possibility of preparing the merit list without taking into account the candidates' performance in board examinations.

A final decision will be taken at the joint meeting of Councils of IITs and NITs on May 28, sources said.

They said only IIT-Guwahati has fully supported the proposal of a single entrance test with weightage to marks in the school boards.

The aim is to hold the test in a new format from 2013 onwards under which a ranking list will be prepared based on Class XII results with 40 per cent weightage to be given after normalisation of marks, 30 per cent to the main test and 30 per cent to the advanced test.

The test will replace the existing IIT-JEE and the All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE).

Several IIT senates, especially those of the seven old IITs, had objected to this format. The faculty federation had also expressed stiff opposition to the proposal and insisted that the senates should have the final say on this issue.

Sources said the issue of factoring the plus-two boards results were yet to be sorted out.

While the boards across the country are expected to declare their results almost simultaneously under the new format, a section feels this would be highly unlikely.

During the meeting, the IITs are understood to have opted to retain the existing format of JEE for the year 2013. They have also stressed on giving thrust on the advance test for preparing the results.