The Joint Council of the Indian Institutes of Technology
(IIT) on Wednesday decided to hold a common entrance test for
admissions to the IITs and National Institutes of Technology (NITs) by
scrapping the joint entrance examination (JEE) and ‘in principle' agreed
to hike the fee for IIT students, but with some riders. The common
entrance test has been devised for all engineering colleges, but would
be extended to others after the concurrence of the States.
Addressing
a press conference here after the meeting, Union Human Resource
Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal said in order to make the IIT
system accessible and equitable for all, it had been decided to hold an
all-India common test for admission to all engineering colleges,
including the IITs, but weightage would also be given to the Class XII
marks. The Board results would be equalised by a formula to be devised
by the Indian Statistical Institute to which the marks obtained in the
common entrance test, based on general logic and non-subject matter,
would be added. The results of the two tests would be combined for an
all-India merit list, that would form the basis of the admission.
Initially, it will be applicable only to the Centrally-administered
institutes, while State institutes can join in after elaborate
discussions on the issue.
The Minister said as of now
it appeared that the IITs were accessible only to the elite and those
who could afford coaching, while there were many more deserving
candidates who did not have access. A common entrance with a new marking
pattern would make it more equitable. “We have various options but have
not yet decided which one to adopt to avoid any aberrations in the
system.”
The Joint Council also agreed to raise the
fee of IIT students from the current Rs. 50,000 per annum to Rs. 2 lakh
as recommended by the Kakodkar Committee, though it rejected the
proposal of across the board hike. The hiked fee would impact about 25
per cent students while students from the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled
Tribes and Other Backward Classes (except the creamy layer) will
continue to get exemption and a large percentage of students are
entitled to education loan. “While agreeing on the proposal to hike the
fee, we have said that the burden on the families should be minimum and
asked them to work out a mechanism by which the student would pay the
enhanced amount once he or she is gainfully employed,” Mr. Sibal said.
As
long as the student is studying he or she is not expected to pay, but
after getting a job the money will have to be paid in instalments. This
will be ensured by putting a condition on the certificate so that the
employer can deduct the amount to be paid to the government. However, if
a student joins the IIT faculty, he or she is exempted from payment.
The provision can be effectively implemented once the National Academic
Depository Bill, 2011 — now in Parliament — is passed. However, Mr.
Sibal clarified that all this was subject to the approval of the Finance
Ministry.
And to make the IITs world class
institutions, it was also decided that the IIT system will produce
40,000 Ph.Ds by 2020 at an average of 10,000 per year. As for the
faculty shortage, it would be enhanced to 16,000 with an additional
4,000 to be appointed every year. While agreeing to the IIT Directors'
demand for more financial and administrative autonomy, the Council asked
them to come up with a road map for ensuring accountability if their
demands were accepted, on approval from the Finance Ministry.
The Joint Council has also agreed to set up a task force to look into the increasing number of suicides in the IITs.
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