A report by an expert committee, to be presented to the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development on November 2, will determine whether the government’s proposal to introduce a single examination system for admissions to engineering institutions, including the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), will be implemented.
The Ministry is keen to do away with the current format of students taking the JEE-Mains and JEE-Advanced and replace it with a ‘one exam, one rank and one counselling’ system, which it asserts is more scientific than strenuous.
The Ministry has also proposed that the IITs can be mandated to conduct and evaluate the examinations to ensure quality.
High coaching fees
While the single exam system is primarily aimed at reducing stress, the move is also being seen as a step to address the growing concern over the proliferation of coaching institutes that charge exorbitant fees.
Sources in the Ministry said they had come across complaints of students being asked to pay as much as Rs. 5 to 6 lakh for coaching for JEE-Advanced.
The expert panel — headed by Ashok Mishra, chairperson of IIT-Roorkee — to decide on the fate of the single exam system will meet for the final consultation on October 28; but there has been implicit support from the IITs and the NIITs to the government’s proposal.
Two-tier exam system adds to the financial burden of students
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