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| Tuesday, Sep 23, 2008
Committee to re-examine IITs admission procedure
Dean of Students, IIT-Madras, V.G. Idichandy to chair it
- Aims to make selection procedure independent
of the coaching classes
- If accepted by the government, the reforms
may be implemented in 2010
Chennai: The Indian Institutes of Technology have decided to
re-examine their admission procedure. Their Board of Directors
has appointed V.G. Idichandy, dean of students at IIT-Madras
to chair a committee to explore reforms in the Joint Entrance
Examination (JEE) system.
The committee will seek to make selection procedure independent
of the coaching classes that have mushroomed to train students
for the JEE, Dr. Idichandy told The Hindu on the sidelines of
the IIT-M Golden Jubilee Run held on Sunday.
“The selection process should become more universal. The
coaching classes are playing havoc with the system,” he
said. “If it was put to me to decide, I would abolish
the JEE.”
‘Not inclusive’
Dr. Idichandy felt a system that would reward students for consistent
performance at the school-level both in academics and in extra-curricular
activities was needed. If the JEE system was to continue, he
felt that perhaps the cream of students from the school level
could be selected to appear for the JEE. That would give credit
to performance in the school board examinations as well as the
entrance examination.
Dr. Idichandy felt that the current system was not inclusive,
since neither women students nor those from rural areas got
much representation in the B.Tech programmes. Coaching institutes
put their students through a rigorous programme, often requiring
residential stay, something that was unacceptable to the parents
of many girls, he said.
The result was that only 8 per cent of B.Tech students were
women, he said, adding that measures should be taken to ensure
at least 30 per cent of representation for them.
The committee headed by Dr. Idichandy will submit its report
within six months of its first meeting. The final decision on
the reforms will be taken by the Union Ministry of Human Resources
Development, he said. If accepted by the government, the reforms
may be implemented in 2010.
Dr. Idichandy has prior experience of the attempts to reform
the JEE. In 2004, he was the convenor of the special task force
set up by the IIT directors to recommend JEE reforms.
Both the eligibility criteria and examination pattern were changed
as a result of that task force, with the screening test system
being abolished.
Courtesy: The Hindu
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