Delhi: In a meeting held on Wednesday, Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Council has discussed about a new fee structure and a single entrance test that would give weightage to Class 12 exam marks.
As per sources, the council, a governing body responsible for all the IITs, considered the suggestion to indirectly hike the annual fee for the general category student from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh. Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal after the meeting said that the expenditure on one student in IIT is Rs 7-8 lakh, whereas the fee is Rs 50,000.
The HRD minister said that the fee cannot be hiked, however, under the new system discussed, student are required to pay the same fee at the time of admission. But as the student start working, the rest of their fee will be paid in installments from their salaries. The student will, however, be exempted if he or she goes for higher education, Masters or PhD, or takes up academics and teaching.
Mr Sibal informed that the instant difference of fee will be borne by the government. In case a student has any gainful employment, he / she will have to pay back the difference in installments. As per sources, students from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and from the non-creamy layer of other backward category will be exempted from the fee hike. According to the calculations, only 25 percent of the students will be affected by this. However, the minister added that a final decision will be taken after consultation with states.
The council also has given its consent in order to hold a common entrance test for engineering colleges. Sibal mentioned that there are two aims behind holding a common entrance test. The first aim is to reduce the burden on children for giving multiple entrance test, and, the second, is to maintain the diversity of India inside the IITs. Presently, only those who can afford coaching for entrance exams are going to the IITs. However, under the new system suggested, which would give weightage to the marks obtained by a student in Class 12 examinations.
However, Sibal, added that whether the colleges under state government will be included or not under the system would be decided only after a meeting with state governments. He also mentioned that the Indian Statistics Institute has arrived at a formula for equalizing marks in all boards. If one board gives 90 % as highest marks, and the other gives 75 %, the marks will be equalized on the basis of a formula.
