One test, one too many opinion
Published: Tuesday, Jun 12, 2012, 11:20 IST | Updated: Tuesday, Jun
12, 2012, 13:08 IST
By Aishhwariya Subramanian | Agency: DNA
By Aishhwariya Subramanian | Agency: DNA
The polarising proposal of the Centre to have a single centralised
entrance examination for all engineering colleges across the country
seems to be finding more detractors with each passing day.
With the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Kanpur voting
against the one-nation-one-entrance policy and in favour of having its
own entrance exam and the Delhi IIT expected to follow suit,
academicians and students here are questioning the need for eradicating
all entrance exams in favour of one.
India, currently, has close to 4,000 engineering colleges and the central test proposed by the central government will also become the gateway to IITs, NITs and IIITs. The proposed policy will also take into account student’s scores in the Class 12 Board exams.
“This is not a good move at all. Each IIT has its own identity and should not be brought under one roof like this. More than anything, this will affect the autonomy awarded to institutions. We have to be wary of anything that is completely centralised as it might be one management that will be handling this.
This simply goes against the principles of autonomy and freedom,” says a former vice-chancellor of Bangalore University, MS Thimmappa.
Founder of PES Institute of Technology, MR Doreswamy, echoed similar views citing that a centralised exam might hurt the chances of students from rural areas. “The existing system in Karnataka seems to be working really well and there seems to be no reason as why we need to change the way things work.
Students need to be prepared for a central syllabus and that may be easier for students coming in from places like Bangalore or Gulbarga but it will be hard for anyone from rural areas. No experiment or testing has been conducted so far to even see if such an exam will be helpful to students and until such time, this should remain in the backburner,” he said.
However, there are also those who wholeheartedly welcome this move saying that now students will have time to understand concepts.
“One of the plus points of the proposed move is that weightage will be given to the 12th Board marks of students. This means instead of attending tuition classes in order to prepare for entrance exams such as IIT-JEE and AIEEE, they will have to also pay attention to their studies and that is great,” says prof Ramakrishna Reddy, former registrar academics of MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology (MSRIT),
Ranking may not be objective
Sagar Honnungar from National Public School, Rajajinagar, had a dream run this academic season. Not only did he clock in an impressive 568th rank in IIT-JEE, he also won all-India rank 21 in AIEEE. He managed to score 97.2% in his 12th Board exams. He, however, does not favour the new idea of single entrance.
One of the main reasons behind the proposal for a single entrance is to save the students from the headache of attending numerous entrance tests.
By avoiding multiple entrances, the government proposed to save the time and cost that students incur when they travel from state to state to attend entrance examinations.
“I think the status in which the IITs are held in public opinion might diminish with these exams. It is really not that much of a trouble writing a few entrance exams after school and since the syllabus for most of these exams are the same; it's not that hard to prepare for them either. What I’m worried about is the fact that Board marks will be given weightage. This includes marks that students get in practical exams as well. So, how are they going to objectively rank these students?” he asked.
India, currently, has close to 4,000 engineering colleges and the central test proposed by the central government will also become the gateway to IITs, NITs and IIITs. The proposed policy will also take into account student’s scores in the Class 12 Board exams.
“This is not a good move at all. Each IIT has its own identity and should not be brought under one roof like this. More than anything, this will affect the autonomy awarded to institutions. We have to be wary of anything that is completely centralised as it might be one management that will be handling this.
This simply goes against the principles of autonomy and freedom,” says a former vice-chancellor of Bangalore University, MS Thimmappa.
Founder of PES Institute of Technology, MR Doreswamy, echoed similar views citing that a centralised exam might hurt the chances of students from rural areas. “The existing system in Karnataka seems to be working really well and there seems to be no reason as why we need to change the way things work.
Students need to be prepared for a central syllabus and that may be easier for students coming in from places like Bangalore or Gulbarga but it will be hard for anyone from rural areas. No experiment or testing has been conducted so far to even see if such an exam will be helpful to students and until such time, this should remain in the backburner,” he said.
However, there are also those who wholeheartedly welcome this move saying that now students will have time to understand concepts.
“One of the plus points of the proposed move is that weightage will be given to the 12th Board marks of students. This means instead of attending tuition classes in order to prepare for entrance exams such as IIT-JEE and AIEEE, they will have to also pay attention to their studies and that is great,” says prof Ramakrishna Reddy, former registrar academics of MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology (MSRIT),
Ranking may not be objective
Sagar Honnungar from National Public School, Rajajinagar, had a dream run this academic season. Not only did he clock in an impressive 568th rank in IIT-JEE, he also won all-India rank 21 in AIEEE. He managed to score 97.2% in his 12th Board exams. He, however, does not favour the new idea of single entrance.
One of the main reasons behind the proposal for a single entrance is to save the students from the headache of attending numerous entrance tests.
By avoiding multiple entrances, the government proposed to save the time and cost that students incur when they travel from state to state to attend entrance examinations.
“I think the status in which the IITs are held in public opinion might diminish with these exams. It is really not that much of a trouble writing a few entrance exams after school and since the syllabus for most of these exams are the same; it's not that hard to prepare for them either. What I’m worried about is the fact that Board marks will be given weightage. This includes marks that students get in practical exams as well. So, how are they going to objectively rank these students?” he asked.
