IIT-Sibal standoff escalates: PM to douse 'common test' fire?
12th June 2012
New Delhi: With the HRD Minister virtually ruling out going back on the new 'one-nation-one-test' proposal for engineering colleges, the Faculty Federation and Alumni Associations of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) hope for some positive response from the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The All-India IIT Faculty Federation and the IIT-Delhi Alumni Association who sought PM's intervention in the issue are reportedly awaiting response to their request for an appointment.
According to reports, accusing Sibal of disregarding the senates concern about the new format, the faculty forum of IIT have urged Prime Minister's 'direct and immediate intervention' to resolve the issue.
The association had reportedly wrote to PM on June 6 but is yet to get an appointment. It has been asked to wait until Sibal returns home from the US on June 14.
Reports said that IIT professors, in their letter urged the Prime Minister to intervene and thrash out the contentious changes in the format of the Joint Entrance Examiantion (JEE)-2013, claiming that the Academic Senate was supreme in such matters.
The Faculty Forum has opined that by doing away with the AIEEE, NIT, IIT-JEE and changing the exam format to a single CET, engineering aspirants would be burdened with pressure and tension.
IIT-Kanpur has reportedly asked the Prime Minister to order cancellation of the proposed Common Entrance Test format that the HRD ministry is likely to implement. Senate of the IIT Kanpur on Friday last had virtually defied HRD Ministry's decision to merge IIT Joint Entrance Exam (IIT-JEE) with the All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE).
The 210-member senate of IIT-Kanpur also passed a resolution rejecting the new format. The premiere insititute went ahead and decided to conduct its own entrance exam from next year. The reports also that IIT-Kanpur had constituted a nine-member committee to look into the admissions.
Sibal adamant on the new format
Meanwhile, rejecting criticism, the Union Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal on Monday said the government has no intent to impinge on the autonomy of the Indian Institutes of Technologies (IITs).
Defending the decision to have one nationwide common entrance test, which is being opposed by IIT Kanpur among others, Sibal said this has been taken in accordance with the IIT Act passed by the Indian Parliament.
Sibal said this is a unanimous decisions of the IIT Council.
"There is no intent to impact on the IIT system autonomy. The exam that is being contemplated is to be set by the IIT itself," Sibal told reporters in Washington when asked to comment on the controversy back home.
Sibal had on May 28 announced that from 2013, aspiring candidates for IITs and other central institutes like NITs and IIITs will have to sit under a new format of common entrance test, which will also take the plus-two board results into consideration.
The minister had claimed that it was approved without dissent at a council consisting of the IITs, the IIITs and the NITs.
(With PTI inputs)
12th June 2012
New Delhi: With the HRD Minister virtually ruling out going back on the new 'one-nation-one-test' proposal for engineering colleges, the Faculty Federation and Alumni Associations of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) hope for some positive response from the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The All-India IIT Faculty Federation and the IIT-Delhi Alumni Association who sought PM's intervention in the issue are reportedly awaiting response to their request for an appointment.
According to reports, accusing Sibal of disregarding the senates concern about the new format, the faculty forum of IIT have urged Prime Minister's 'direct and immediate intervention' to resolve the issue.
The association had reportedly wrote to PM on June 6 but is yet to get an appointment. It has been asked to wait until Sibal returns home from the US on June 14.
Reports said that IIT professors, in their letter urged the Prime Minister to intervene and thrash out the contentious changes in the format of the Joint Entrance Examiantion (JEE)-2013, claiming that the Academic Senate was supreme in such matters.
The Faculty Forum has opined that by doing away with the AIEEE, NIT, IIT-JEE and changing the exam format to a single CET, engineering aspirants would be burdened with pressure and tension.
IIT-Kanpur has reportedly asked the Prime Minister to order cancellation of the proposed Common Entrance Test format that the HRD ministry is likely to implement. Senate of the IIT Kanpur on Friday last had virtually defied HRD Ministry's decision to merge IIT Joint Entrance Exam (IIT-JEE) with the All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE).
The 210-member senate of IIT-Kanpur also passed a resolution rejecting the new format. The premiere insititute went ahead and decided to conduct its own entrance exam from next year. The reports also that IIT-Kanpur had constituted a nine-member committee to look into the admissions.
Sibal adamant on the new format
Meanwhile, rejecting criticism, the Union Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal on Monday said the government has no intent to impinge on the autonomy of the Indian Institutes of Technologies (IITs).
Defending the decision to have one nationwide common entrance test, which is being opposed by IIT Kanpur among others, Sibal said this has been taken in accordance with the IIT Act passed by the Indian Parliament.
Sibal said this is a unanimous decisions of the IIT Council.
"There is no intent to impact on the IIT system autonomy. The exam that is being contemplated is to be set by the IIT itself," Sibal told reporters in Washington when asked to comment on the controversy back home.
Sibal had on May 28 announced that from 2013, aspiring candidates for IITs and other central institutes like NITs and IIITs will have to sit under a new format of common entrance test, which will also take the plus-two board results into consideration.
The minister had claimed that it was approved without dissent at a council consisting of the IITs, the IIITs and the NITs.
(With PTI inputs)
