Amidst the confusion surrounding the implementation of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has ruled out any common entrance test for engineering seats in the country.
AICTE Chairman Anil Dattatraya Sahasrabudhe told reporters here on Tuesday though there was “thinking” on the lines, nothing concrete can be expected even the next academic year. “Right now, there is no proposal (for a common entrance exam). The thinking is there, but it won’t be any time soon,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the 51st annual convocation of Bangalore University (BU).
Pointing out that some States were already using scores in the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Mains for admitting students, he said that the implementation of one exam for the whole country would require an “alignment in syllabus,” without which students of the State syllabus would be at a disadvantage.
Start-up policy
Elaborating on employment for students, which comprised much of his convocation address, Mr. Sahasrabudhe also revealed that the AICTE would be launching a ‘start-up policy’ within two months, which colleges across the country could adopt on a voluntary basis.
“It is a big myth that the large industries have more jobs. It is actually the start-ups and small and medium scale industries that have a large number of jobs. We will give a framework to colleges,” he said.
What this could mean for students is a possibility of getting credits for projects that would otherwise not fetch them anything, the AICTE chairman added.
International rankings
He also said the Centre had plans to ensure that more Indian institutes make it to the top 100 in international rankings, among which was identifying 20 government and private institutions (10 each) to be mentored, including providing them with funds.
