PATNA: Hundreds of underprivileged students aspiring to join IITs on Tuesday took out a rally in the city under the leadership of Super-30 founder and noted mathematician Anand Kumar to protest against the Centre's decision to change the format of IIT admission test from next year.
Under the new format, instead of one examination for admission to the 15 IITs across the country, there will be two examinations - JEE-Main and JEE-Advanced. In the main exam, 50% weightage will be given to performance in the Class 12 boards, which will be used as a filtering process. A candidate's performance in the advanced examination will determine his/her admission to the IITs.
Besides, there will be no separate examination for admission to non-IIT engineering colleges from next year. Admission to the various National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and centrally funded engineering colleges across India will be based on the JEE-Main and JEE-Advanced examination.
"If there can be one test for the more competitive AIIMS examination, which has fewer seats and more candidates, and IIMs, why can there be no single test for IITs? The process being adopted is more cumbersome and it will only add to pressure on students," Anand said.
He told media persons that the move to change the examination format from 2013 would cause confusion among the current batch of students. "They have already completed their Class XI. If at all the new system is to be implemented, it should be effective from 2014, so that the students get enough time to adjust. After all, the changes are for students only," he added while reacting to the Union HRD minister's decision.
Maintaining that there was still uncertainty about the mechanism of two-tier test, he said if the JEE-Main and JEE-Advanced examination are held the same day, it would be psychologically draining for the poor students. "More thought needs to be given to the proposed changes before implementing them," he added.
"The proposed reform to bring focus back to the schooling system by giving weightage to performance in Class XII Board examinations normalized on percentile basis would also be a serious challenge, as there is huge gulf between schools of the CBSE and ICSE boards and those under state boards. The formula to be adopted for percentile calculation is also not clear, as all state boards have different yardsticks," Kumar added.
Anand said the new system would make students more dependent on coaching, as they would have to prepare for three different tests - JEE-Main, JEE-Advanced (which will also have aptitude test), and for scoring high marks in the Plus Two examinations. "What is more, the students from rural areas, who don't have the advantage of quality schooling, will face disadvantage in qualifying for the JEE-Advanced examination for no fault of theirs," he said.
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