New Delhi: Students aspiring to seek admission in Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and other prestigious engineering institutions in India have some good news! An outstanding performance in Class 12 examinations can increase their chances of booking a seat in their preferred engineering college. Come 2013 and the new single Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) will carry only 60% weightage at the time of admissions. Officials are planning to give at least 40% weightage to class 12 school board marks.
In a recently held meeting, All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) conducted by Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and IIT were merged into a single entrance test, with effect from the academic year 2013. NITs (National Institutes of Technology) and IITs have given a green signal to the new format. However, the final decision will be made by the Human Resource (HRD) Ministry in the meeting of Joint Admission Board (JAB), scheduled to be held on February 18, 2012.
As per sources, the common aptitude-cum-advanced knowledge test, touted to be known as a single JEE, will overcome the erstwhile CBSE-AIEEE and IIT-JEE tests from 2013. Students will be selected through the board marks and test scores. The new entrance exam will have two elements - a simple aptitude testing to assess scholastic levels and an advanced section allowing an applicant to choose to either continue with or skip.
Since the new JEE will be the only test for selecting future technocrats, IITs and NIT have shown positive response to the new format. This move is likely to divert the attention of students towards school education instead of coaching institutions. However, the test will be used for producing scorecards only, while the weightage will be decided by the individual institution to which the candidate applies.
It will be entirely on part of the concerned institute to divide the 60% weightage into aptitude level section and advanced knowledge format. Therefore, the ratio could be 30:30 for IITs while the NITs can modify it to 40:20. Furthermore, JAB and Central Counseling Board (CCB) will work out a format to pinpoint the modalities and different aspects on admission through this combined test.
The current JEE exam is responsible for enrolling students to 15 IITs across India. CBSE’s AIEEE, on the other hand, offers admission to 30 NITs, 4 Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs), and 5 Indian Institutes of Science Education & Research (IISERs). Besides, a wide array of private engineering and technical colleges follow AIEEE scores for admissions. AIEEE is written by over 10 lakh students every year, while the number for JEE is 5 lakh.
