The State government is contemplating removing pre-university (PU) results from the Common Entrance Test (CET) ranking equation. Currently, both PU and CET results hold equal weightage in the ranking system, and II PU and class 12 students vying for seats in engineering and other professional courses have to study for both exams.
In 2016, ranks for all courses except dental, medical, and veterinary were calculated based on both PU as well as CET marks. Equal weightage is given to all government and government-quota seats in engineering, Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH), pharmacy, agriculture, and B.Tech courses.
Officials themselves are in a dilemma and are currently weighing the pros and cons about this decision as it will have far-reaching consequences on how students will prepare for the entrance test that will determine their career choice.
“Some experts say that having only CET scores level the playing field as students who enrol from CET appear for PU exams conducted by different examination boards — Department of Pre-University Education (DPUE), Central Board of Secondary Education, and Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations. So considering only CET scores is a good move,” a source said.
But opinion is divided, and teachers are worried that students will focus only on the entrance exam. There are also fears that the State government may adopt this move for the 2017 academic year. “Whatever changes the State government plans to introduce, in should not be done for the 2017 academic year as we have already begun our preparation for boards as well as competitive exams. Had we known this change, we would have spent more time on preparing for CET rather than PU exams,” a II PU student said.
Grace marks
The DPUE, which formed a sub-committee to look into the issue of grace marks in PU examination after the intervention of the High Court, had recommended that this issue be deliberated by the government. “One of the points that the members of the sub-committee were supposed to discuss was whether only CET scores could be considered for rankings. But they have suggested that the call needs to be taken by the State government,” a source pointed out.