426 - Latest News 28th July 2012

Study harder and wiser to beat competition Indian Express - ‎15 hours ago‎ These days getting admission in renowned universities and institutes such as Delhi University and IIT has become a very tough. This is mainly because of the high cut-offs the institutes and colleges have, mostly in the range of 95 per cent to 100 per ... IIT Kanpur to accept common entrance test as 'interim' measure only for 2013 NDTV - ‎Jul 28, 2012‎ PTI | Updated: July 29, 2012 11:54 IST Kanpur/New Delhi: IIT Kanpur today decided to accept the common entrance test based on percentile ranking as an "interim" measure only for 2013 and retain the existing eligibility condition for students who passed ... IIT Kanpur accepts new JEE format Firstpost - ‎Jul 28, 2012‎ by FP Staff Jul 29, 2012 IIT Kanpur on Saturday accepted the new Joint Entrance Exam pattern proposed by the Human Resource Development Ministry, clearing the way to make changes in the reputed examination, reported CNN-IBN. The news channel reported ... IIT Kanpur accepts new common entrance pattern IBNLive.com - ‎Jul 28, 2012‎ New Delhi: The IIT Kanpur on Saturday accepted the new Joint Entrance Exam pattern proposed by the Human Resource Development Ministry, clearing the way to make changes in the reputed examination. Most of the members of the IIT Kanpur senate agreed to ... IIT-K okays common entrance exam as interim step Indian Express - ‎Jul 28, 2012‎ The Indian Institute of Technology - Kanpur (IIT-K) has decided to go ahead with the common entrance test across the country for all IITs, NIITs and IIITs “as an interim measure for JEE 2013”. The senate of the institute, which met Saturday, ... IIT Kanpur backtracks, to take part in joint entrance examination 2013 Times of India - ‎Jul 28, 2012‎ IIT Kanpur decided on Saturday that it will not conduct its own entrance examination in 2013. KANPUR: A meeting of IIT Kanpur's senate decided on Saturday that it will not conduct its own entrance examination in 2013 and will take part in the Joint ... IIT Kanpur accepts JEE 13 compromise formula Indian Express - ‎Jul 28, 2012‎ Signaling an end to the turf war between the Union HRD Ministry and IITs over the common entrance examination for all engineering courses, IIT Kanpur senate on Saturday accepted the compromise formula for JEE 2013. IIT Kanpur, the most vocal of the ... IIT-Kanpur to accept common entrance as 'interim' measure Zee News - ‎Jul 28, 2012‎ Kanpur/New Delhi: IIT-Kanpur on Saturday decided to accept the common entrance based on percentile ranking as an "interim" measure only for 2013 and retain the existing eligibility condition for students who passed their board examination in 2012. Fresh row over IIT entrance test Economic Times - ‎Jul 28, 2012‎ NEW DELHI: The senate of IIT-Kanpur on Saturday suggested modifications to the compromise formula that had been hammered out late last month. This decision comes within a few days after IIT Bombay made a similar demand. The IIT Kanpur senate has ... IIT-K suggests 60% eligibility for second try Hindustan Times - ‎Jul 28, 2012‎ While keeping in mind the urgent need to remove uncertainties from the minds of the students, IIT Kanpur on Saturday accepted the 20 percentile formula for JEE 2013 but only as an 'interim measure'. The IIT Kanpur senate however made some major ... IIT-JEE 2013: IIT- K accepts CET as interim measure Indian Colleges - ‎4 hours ago‎ IIT- Kanpur has accepted the common entrance test(CET) which will be based on percentile ranking as an interim measure only for 2013. IIT-K will retain the existing eligibility condition for students who passed their board examination in 2012. IIT Kanpur clears way for new JEE pattern Parda Phash - ‎Jul 28, 2012‎ New Delhi: After an intense meeting with the academic senate, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur stamped its agreement on the revised pattern for Joint Entrance Exam (JEE). The new pattern was proposed by the Human Resource Development ... IIT Kanpur plea on eligibility Calcutta Telegraph - ‎Jul 28, 2012‎ New Delhi, July 28: The IIT Kanpur senate today said the new eligibility criterion for IIT admission should not apply to students who cleared their Class XII board exam this year and will be taking the Joint Entrance Examination next year. Percentile ranking gets thumbs-up from IIT-Kanpur Daily Pioneer - ‎Jul 28, 2012‎ After IIT-Mumbai, IIT-Kanpur too on Saturday decided to accept the common entrance test based on percentile ranking. The decision was, however, taken as an "interim" measure only for 2013. "The Senate recommended the IIT Council's decision keeping in ... Unlucky '13 a one-time affair? Daily Pioneer - ‎Jul 28, 2012‎ The general elections in 2014 are likely to cast a shadow on the prospects of IIT aspirants for the year. As of now, the much-hyped new common entrance test to be held in 2013 is slated to be a one-time affair, with the Government dithering on taking a ...

425 - Latest News on JEE Dated 26th July 2012

IIT Bombay senate agrees to JEE reforms Daily News & Analysis - ‎Jul 26, 2012‎ By DNA Correspondent | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA In the IIT-Bombay senate meeting on Wednesday, reforming the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) was broadly agreed upon. With recommendations that mainly concern the ambiguity over the minimum required board ... IIT-Bombay polls against 2-tier exam system Times of India - ‎Jul 26, 2012‎ Of the 1800 respondents from among the alumni, students and faculty members of IIT-Bombay, around 78% of respondents voted against a two-tier exam system in place of the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE). MUMBAI: Of the 1800 respondents from among the alumni, ... Scrapping JEE format will dilute IIT brand: Online poll Indian Express - ‎Jul 26, 2012‎ The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) have arrived at a compromise formula on the new entrance test but an online poll among IIT Bombay alumni, faculty and students reveals that 89 per cent ... IIT Bombay seeks changes in JEE formula The Hindu - ‎Jul 26, 2012‎ The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has sought some changes in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) formula, for admission to the IITs, adopted last month. The IIT Bombay Senate accepted the JEE, but said there should be lesser number of ... IIT Bombay gives nod to new format of common entrance Times of India - ‎Jul 26, 2012‎ NEW DELHI: IIT Bombay on Wednesday gave its nod to the common entrance for admission to the undergraduate programme from 2013 under a format which will admit students having top 20 percentile of their respective boards. The senate approved the IIT ... IIT Bombay may cut JEE Advanced filter Indian Express - ‎Jul 25, 2012‎ The IIT Bombay senate on Wednesday approved the 'compromise formula' for admission to the IITs from 2013, but recommended that JEE Main should filter for JEE Advanced not 1.5 lakh, but only 50000 students. The 'compromise formula' that the HRD ministry ... IIT Bombay accepts common entrance format Moneycontrol.com - ‎Jul 25, 2012‎ IIT Bombay on Wednesday gave its nod to the common entrance for admission to the undergraduate programme from 2013. Source: PTI IIT Bombay on Wednesday gave its nod to the common entrance for admission to the undergraduate programme from 2013 under a ... IIT Bombay set to moot tougher entry rule Daily News & Analysis - ‎Jul 25, 2012‎ By Pallavi Smart | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA If the IIT Bombay senate recommendation is accepted by the IIT Council, you might have to be among the top 50000 candidates to qualify for the Advanced Test for admission into the IITs. Shortlist 50k hopefuls for JEE-Advanced, recommends IIT-Bombay's special senate Times of India - ‎Jul 25, 2012‎ MUMBAI: IIT-Bombay's special senate recommended a decrease in the number of students to be shortlisted for the JEE-advanced from 1.5 lakh to 50000. The meeting to discuss the compromise formula for common entrance test (CET) for admissions to the top ... Common entrance exam: IIT Bombay seeks change in test formula; may get backing ... Economic Times - ‎Jul 25, 2012‎ NEW DELHI: If human resource development minister Kapil Sibal thought that he had managed to put the IIT common entrance examination debacle behind him, then he is mistaken. The compromise over the IIT admission test hammered out late last month has ... Allow only 50000 students to take second exam: IIT-B senate Hindustan Times - ‎Jul 25, 2012‎ The senate of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) accepted the admission reforms proposed by the IIT Council, with one modification at its special meeting on Wednesday. The senate has proposed that instead of the top 1.5 lakh aspirants, ... IIT-B accepts new entrance format Indian Express - ‎Jul 25, 2012‎ The new test for admission to the IITs has received the stamp of approval from IIT-Bombay senate, but with a rider. In a special senate meeting on Wednesday, members approved the implementation of the compromise formula for admission to the IITs from ... JEE: IIT Bombay approves 20 percentile formula Hindustan Times - ‎Jul 25, 2012‎ IIT Bombay on Wednesday approved, in principle, the 20 percentile formula for the IIT JEE 2013 which was announced by the IIT Council on June 27. After wide-ranging discussions on different aspects, the senate, however, made a recommendation that the ... IIT Bombay gives nod to new format of common entrance exam Economic Times - ‎Jul 25, 2012‎ IIT-B gives nod to new format, which will admit students having top 20 percentile of their respective boards. NEW DELHI: IIT Bombay today gave its nod to the common entrance for admission to the undergraduate programme from 2013 under a format which ... IIT-Bombay accepts percentile formula for JEE 2013 Hindustan Times - ‎Jul 25, 2012‎ IIT-Bombay on Wednesday formally approved in principle, with just one recommendation, the 20 percentile formula for the IIT-JEE 2013 that had been announced by the IIT Council last month. The senate of IIT-Bombay met on Wednesday to take an overall ... IIT-JEE 2013: IIT-B students, alumni against 2-tier exam system Indian Colleges - ‎Jul 27, 2012‎ IIT-Bombay (IIT-B) may have accepted the Common Entrance Test (CET) on certain conditions, but students and faculty are against it. IIT Bombay has accepted the common entrance test (CET) on certain conditions which includes short listing candidates, ... IIT-JEE 2013: IIT Bombay accepts CET Indian Colleges - ‎Jul 25, 2012‎ Indian Institute of Technology- Bombay (IIT-B) has accepted the common entrance test (CET) on certain conditions. The test will be based on the new format agreed at the senate meeting in June. According to the new format IIT- B has decided to restrict ... IIT for fewer examinees Calcutta Telegraph - ‎Jul 25, 2012‎ New Delhi, July 25: The IIT Bombay senate tonight rejected the IIT Council's decision that the top 1.5 lakh candidates of JEE-Main, the first round test of the new Joint Entrance Examination, would have to appear in the second round.

424 - Govt back to ‘one nation, one test’ idea Aditi Tandon/TNS - The Tribune India

Govt back to ‘one nation, one test’ idea Aditi Tandon/TNS


New Delhi, July 29


The government is in the process of setting up a new committee to look afresh at the modalities of the “one nation one test” idea and recommend ways to implement it across disciplines in a phased manner.


Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister Dr CNR Rao is expected to head the committee which will have, as members, representatives from IIT faculty and IIT Council.


The move comes after the proposed single test for admission to engineering courses fell flat and the IITs blocked it seeking an add-on test for entry to their system. The new government panel will have IIT teachers as members to ensure their concerns are addressed at the inception.

On the anvil Kapil Sibal to set up new committee Eminent scientist CNR Rao expected to chair it IIT faculty to be part of the committee

Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal told The Tribune in an exclusive interview that his “one nation one test” dream was alive and he was working to realise it.


“The nation has to move towards a single test. There is no other choice. I am going to set up a committee involving the IIT faculty and the Council to look at the issue of a single national test. I have discussed it with the IIT Kanpur faculty.


“They said they would be happy to be part of the committee,” Sibal said.


He said he would ask Dr CNR Rao to chair the committee because under Rao, the PM’s Scientific Advisory Council resolved to have a single national test for admission to all undergraduate courses.
Admitting that the IITs tweaked the originally agreed upon one test formula for admission to technical courses, the HRD Minister said, “I wanted one test. I didn’t succeed in that. The IITs tweaked the formula. I opted out of the final IIT Council meeting and said they could decide whatever they want for admission to their system.


“The single test resolution is not my resolution. It is the resolution of the PM’s Council. It is the view of CNR Rao, who symbolises excellence in education. Clearly, what I was trying to do was consistent with what the best minds in the country were thinking.”


Asked what the new committee would prescribe considering India had over 40,000 colleges offering undergraduate-level courses, the minister said the committee would have to develop a test for all college-level undergraduate admissions.
“It will be done in a phased manner. We will take up engineering first and management gradually,” Sibal said.


Earlier, the IIT faculty had vetoed the IIT Council’s idea of a common test for admission to all technical courses and demanded an advanced subjective test for entry to their institutes. The 20 National Institutes of Technology (NITs), however, agreed to stick to one AIEEE-type test for admitting close to 40,000 students from 2013.


The HRD Minister said he was very happy with the outcome but efforts towards a single test could not be given up.
“We now have a single engineering test for all central institutes except the IITs. Deemed universities have agreed to join it. The All-India Council for Technical Education has passed directions to affiliated technical colleges to join after their states concur.
“The states are writing to us to join the single test. West Bengal will come on board in 2014. So, in principle, we have succeeded to have one test for technical courses,” Sibal said.

423 - The Pyramid’s Base Is Rising - Out Look India

                 

The Pyramid’s Base Is Rising

In its seventh edition, Outlook-MDRA rank the best colleges in Engineering, Medicine, Dentistry, Architecture, Fashion Technology, Mass Communication, Hotel Management, Social Work and Law

Arindam Mukherjee

Amidst a seemingly endless flow of gloomy news—the sagging GDP growth numbers and growing inflation, rising petrol prices which touches everyone from the high and mighty to the common man, and the Eurozone crisis that threatens to further upset India’s economic balance—news about India’s technical education sector remained the season’s bestseller. Of course, for all the wrong reasons. The brainwave that struck Union minister for human resource development Kapil Sibal—to braid the entrance examinations to all the engineering colleges in the country into a single examination—has not met with the kind of reaction he would have anticipated. The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are now united in opposition to the proposal—and divided in deciding to hold their own separate examinations from next year.

Even though confusion persists over how the engineering entrance examinations will look next year and how students should approach it, and how the economy will perform, or, for that matter, which way the Eurozone crisis will head and so, how Indian companies would react in the college placement season, the serpentine lines at India’s top professional colleges continue to get longer, with more inquisitive faces coming into the fray. Outlook’s ranking of India’s top professional colleges (in partnership with MDRA) comes out at a time when even more comprehensive analysis and information is required about colleges that will shape the future of millions of young Indians.

There’s little change at the top, and plenty of it at the bottom. This time, we present objective analyses for seven streams.

The ranking, in its seventh edition, springs few surprises. While there is little change in the top 15-20 rankings, with the IITs fiercely controlling their fiefdom (just like they are trying to hold on to their own entrance exam, the IIT-JEE), we have this year a more robust universe of India’s best engineering colleges, with the best in class being part of our survey. There is perceivable improvement at the bottom of the table, even though many small colleges have not made it to India’s Top 75. This could be good news for the one million-plus students who seek to enter India’s colleges every year. On an average, the landscape of all the streams has not changed much, apart from the addition of some more leading names in their respective streams. Considering the quality of colleges, we expanded the rankings in the medical and law streams. Also, marching forward from last year’s six streams for which we did an objective analysis, this year, we present objective analyses for seven streams, while two—fashion and media—continue to be pure perceptual rankings.
There’s a lot on offer in this issue: the Outlook team went across the country to demystify the engineering entrance examination issue and gauge how it would impact different segments. With technology and the internet entering our lives more prominently, can education be far behind? We take a detailed look at how online education is shaping up in India. Yes, the future has arrived. With research and innovation starting early at the college level, innovations are also happening actively at college backyards. We sampled some breakthrough products and technologies India’s young scientists are about to present to the world. Also watch out for the detailed package on the biggest problem facing students today: stress.

Hopefully, by the time next year’s aspirants sit for examinations, everyone will be less stressed out—and a solution would have been found to the examination issue. Till then, as always, choose wisely.

422 - Cut-offs released for IIT aspirants may be unreliable - Hindustan Times

Cut-offs released for IIT aspirants may be unreliable

Charu Sudan Kasturi, Hindustan Times

New Delhi, July 23, 2012

The board examination cut-off marks for eligibility to the Indian Institutes of Technology next year may vary significantly from those released this week by school boards as indicators of what to expect, data suggests.

Variations in performances across years in each board, coupled with the expectation that students are likely to study harder for school-leaving examinations next year, make the released cut-off indicators unreliable.

The Council of Central Boards of Secondary Education (CoBSE) has compiled a list of percentage scores that separate the top 20% students from the rest in each board this year. The CoBSE and the human resources development (HRD) ministry have argued that these cut-off scores are unlikely to fluctuate much next year, and act as indicators of what students need to score to be eligible for IIT admissions.

But the scores of even just the top one percentile students varies significantly across years for several boards, an analysis of performances in 2008, 2009 and 2010 shows.

“There is no reason why scores next year should follow the pattern they followed this year,” said Ajit Chaturvedi, head of the Delhi University statistics department, when asked whether the marks released by the CoBSE can be treated as indicators for 2013

In the Andhra Pradesh board for instance, students who scored more than 81.2% in 2008 were in the top 1%. But just two years later, in 2010, a score of 95.2% – 14 percentage points higher – marked the top 1 percentile.

The cut-off for the top 1 percentile in the Bihar board swung between 66.7% in 2008 and 74% in 2010, from 67.8% to 61.4% in Jharkhand and 69.2% to 77% in Uttar Pradesh over the same period.

But there’s another reason too why the cut-off marks released by the CoBSE cannot be treated as reliable indicators, experts argue.

The human resource development (HRD) ministry has introduced the new IIT eligibility criterion requiring that students secure a spot in top 20 percent of their board with the aim of making them focus on board examinations more than at present.

This is likely to make students study harder for board examinations next year, which should significantly push up the cut-off corresponding to the top 20 percent, Chaturvedi said.

421 - 4 facts about IIT-JEE 2013 Editorial Team, 24, July

4 facts about IIT-JEE 2013

The Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) for the IITs now states that only the top 20 percentiles from each state board shall be eligible to sit for the exam from 2013.

This means that students will have to change the pattern in which they study for the exams. While some reports have claimed that the changes will see a boom in coaching institutes, we list four facts that all students sitting for IIT-JEE 2013 should be aware of.

The new rules also state that students who qualify to sit for the exam in 2013 will have to sit for a main paper and advanced paper. While critics state that the plan has not been thought out well, it seems like students have little choice but to take note of the changes.

1. Students from boards where marking is stricter may be penalised	The top 20 percentile of states differ depending on the how strictly marks are awarded. A student from Meghalaya scoring 49 percent and a student from Andhra Pradesh scoring 87 percent are both in the 20th percentiles in their respective states. However, both will have to pass the advanced paper for IIT-JEE to be eligible for IIT.
2. Calculation of Percentile	A student’s percentile score is calculated by dividing the number of students below them with the number of students who appeared for the exam. This ratio is then multiplied by 100.
3. Marks for getting into the top 20 percentile will change each year	Analysis of marks show that the scores students need to get into the top 20 percentile changes each year. For example, in 2008 a student in AP needed to score 81.2 percent to be in the top 1 percentile. Two years later, a student needed to get 95.2 percent to get into the top 1 percentile.
4. Board exams may get more competitive	Previously, students needed to score 60 percent to be eligible for IIT JEE for the general category. From 2013, only the top 20 percentile will be eligible to sit for IIT-JEE. This will force students to study harder for IIT-JEE.

420 - Mark that: AP faces toughest IIT test July 22, 2012 By L. Venkat Ram Reddy DC - Deccan Chronicle

Mark that: AP faces toughest IIT test

• July 22, 2012 By L. Venkat Ram Reddy DC

Andhra Pradesh students who usually dominate the IIT-JEE results every year will be at a “disadvantage” over students from other states if the statistics released by the Council of Boards of School Education (CoBSE) are any indication: They have been set the toughest ‘barrier’ for the forthcoming IIT entrance test.

If the proposed IIT-JEE test based on the “top 20 percentile data” comes into force from 2013, AP students will have to secure 87.20 per cent in the Intermediate (10+2) exams, the highest in the country, to become eligible. The next highest state will be Tamil Nadu, whose students will have to get 78.17 per cent. CBSE students across the country, including AP, will need to get 77.80 per cent marks.

The CoBSE, which is the association of various Boards at 10+2 level across the country, has arrived at these cut-off figures based on the top 20 percentile marks secured by students in various 10+2 Board exams this year. Till now, a minimum of 60 per cent in 10+2 was enough to appear for the IIT-JEE. However, with the proposal to allow only students who figure in the top 20 percentile list from each Board to take the test, the cut-off marks for AP students will increase to 87.20 per cent. Other states that come close are Tamil Nadu (78.17), CBSE (77.80), Kerala (76.5), Punjab (70.8), Karnataka (67.5), Jammu and Kashmir (67), Uttar Pradesh (65), Manipur (64.6), Madhya Pradesh (64) and Rajasthan (63.8). At the lower end of the scale, Meghalaya will have to score 49.40 per cent, the lowest in the country. The wide variation in marks is because of different evaluation methods adopted by various Boards.

“The new system is totally irrational. While the Centre talks of reducing the stress for students, it works exactly the opposite way. Students from urban areas and those in corporate colleges will have an edge as they score over 90 per cent marks. Students from rural and weaker sections will not be in a position even to appear for the new test. AP should lodge a protest against the new test with the Centre in the larger interest of our students,” said Madhusudhan Reddy, general secretary of AP Government Junior Lecturers’ Association, which has been agitating against the new test.

419 - Scoring-gap test for IIT percentile rule - Telegraph India

Scoring-gap test for IIT percentile rule

BASANT KUMAR MOHANTY

New Delhi, July 20: An Andhra Pradesh student who scores 86.9 per cent in his Class XII exams will be shut out of IIT admission next year while a Nagaland student with 49 per cent will remain eligible, if the 2013 board results across India remain similar to this year’s.

This possibility, which many may see as unjust, is a fallout of the rule that makes only students from the top 20 percentile of their respective boards eligible for IIT admission from next year.

Since different boards follow different systems of evaluation, the minimum marks a student needs to qualify for the top 20 percentile from his or her board could vary widely from state to state.

For instance, an Andhra board student this year would need to score 87 per cent to figure in the top 20 percentile while his counterpart from Nagaland would need 49 per cent.

The Council of Boards of School Education has released the board-wise top 20 percentile cut-offs for this year to provide an idea about how much IIT seat seekers will need to score next year, for the scoring patterns tend not to change dramatically from year to year.

The situation depicted may draw criticism from students and parents from high-scoring state boards such as Andhra, Tamil Nadu (whose cut-off is 78.17 per cent this year) and Kerala (76.5), who might see candidates from Bengal (58), Maharashtra (61.1) or Assam (54.2) qualify for IIT admission.

The scoring gap, however, doesn’t necessarily mean that students from certain states are poorer — it probably has more to do with stricter award of marks.

Besides, the board marks will not have any bearing on students’ merit list ranks, which will be determined solely on the basis of their performance in the JEE Advanced, the second of the two entrance tests IIT seat seekers will have to take after 1.5 lakh are screened from the JEE Main.

The board marks are merely an eligibility criterion: which means a Nagaland student with 49 per cent board marks will secure an IIT seat only if he or she does well in the JEE Advanced, thus proving his or her merit.

The old eligibility criterion was a flat 60 per cent board score for general and Other Backward Classes students and 55 per cent for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates. The IIT Council last month changed it to a top 20 percentile place for the student in his or her board and category.

A student’s percentile score is obtained by dividing the number of students below him or her with the number who appeared, and multiplying the ratio by 100.

“The board-wise eligibility cut-off for next year will be worked out on the basis of next year’s results, but it will be around the same as this year,” said an official of the Council of Boards of School Education, a body that coordinates with all the boards on matters of common interest.

IIT Faculty Federation president K. Narasimhan said the new criterion was being introduced without proper examination of its impact.

418 - Row over admissions to premier colleges - The Star

Sunday July 22, 2012

Row over admissions to premier colleges

India Diary
By COOMI KAPOOR

It is not easy to fix a broken education system. Kapil Sibal, Human Resources Development Minister, learnt it on the job the hard way recently. He set out to right the flawed entrance exam to the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology, but met stiff resistance from all quarters.

The stand-off threatened to disrupt the functioning of the Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), with its faculties taking up cudgels against the minister for trying to erode the autonomy of these islands of excellence in an otherwise bleak scenario.

Sibal, a lawyer-turned-politician, believed that the current admission test for the IITs was skewed in favour of learning by rote, and virtually ignored results at the school level.

Keen to change the system, he ordered that all the 16 IITs conduct a common entrance test which would consider marks obtained in the school-leaving 12th board exams.

Given the popularity of privately-run coaching schools, which prepare tens of thousands of students for the IIT entrance exam annually, the minister contended that the present system was like a lottery.

Anyone who happened to learn by rote the right answers get admitted, while even genuinely bright students failed to make it. Indeed, a number of small towns had come to be associated with private IIT coaching.

The most famous one in north India, for example, was in Kota, a small town in Rajasthan.

The entire economy of this hitherto little known town revolved around scores of coaching institutes which attracted tens of thousands of aspirants for various competitive exams, be it for the IITs, or the Indian Administrative Service or the Indian Foreign Service, or various other competitive exams, from various neighbouring states.

For a hefty tuition fee, averaging about US$2,000 (RM6,200), coaching institutes made their recruits master the question papers of the IIT exams in the previous two or three decades.

In other words, by making them learn by rote answers to the entire gamut of questions asked previously, they put them on a higher footing than those who lacked the benefit of such coaching even if they had performed exceedingly well in the school-leaving board exams.

Sibal wanted to change this system of admission which relied heavily on the performance in the all-India Joint Entrance Exam for IITs.

How an applicant had fared in the 12th standard board exams ought to be fully taken into account while evaluating his chances for admission into the IITs, he argued.

Immediately the IITs were up in arms, protesting that the minister was tinkering with a system which had served their cause very well. Besides, he had no business to interfere since they enjoyed autonomy from ministerial interference.

IIT graduates are so valued that major Indian and foreign companies operating in India snap them up for huge pay packets at annual campus recruitment camps.

Notably, the IITs had carved a special niche for themselves in the otherwise broken educational infrastructure in the country, with its alumni making a huge mark globally.

In particular, the US corporate world was teeming with IIT graduates in various top-notch positions. A number of IIT alumni had gone on to become billionaires, with quite a few of them making million-dollar endowments to their former alma maters.

So, when Sibal announced his intention to drastically alter the IIT entrance system, public opinion was overwhelmingly against him.

He was asked to mend the broken elementary school system suffering from a high drop-out rate, non-payment of salaries to teachers for years on end, widespread teacher absenteeism, non-existent school buildings, poor quality of instruction, etc. IITs, it was argued, were the only bright spots in an otherwise depressing educational landscape.

Egged on by the adverse public opinion against ministerial interference, several IITs rejected Sibal’s proposal to introduce the new system of entrance examination from the 2013 academic session.

They said they would stick by the present system under which some half a million aspirants armed with a first class school-leaving certificate (60% pass marks or above) sit for a stiff written exam for admission to 16 IITs.

The IITs are graded by the degree of excellence and specialisation in various disciplines, with the top ones in Mumbai, Kanpur, Delhi and Chennai bagging the best and the brightest from among the successful students.

Given that there are about 10,000 seats, only one among 50 manages to get admitted to the IITs every year. A 5% to 10% concession in entrance exam for students belonging to the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes ensures that the reserved quota seats are duly filled in these much-valued institutions.

After initial rejection, the IITs were engaged in an informal dialogue by the HRD Ministry. The resulting compromise saw both sides yield some ground.

From the 2013 academic season, instead of one there will be two tests, one Joint Entrance Exam, Main, and another Joint Entrance Exam, Advanced. The former would be conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education and the latter by the IITs, taking turns among themselves each year to conduct it.

The 150,000 aspirants who clear the preliminary test will be eligible to sit for the exam to be conducted by the IITs.

However, a list of successful candidates from these 150,000 examinees would be drawn taking into account their marks in the 12th board exam. Only those who figured in the top 20% of the successful board exams would be considered for admission to the IITs.

In other words, it is possible that even if someone who tops the entrance exam to the IITs, but does not figure in the top 20 of that year’s successful candidates in the 12th board exam, will be denied admission into the IITs.

Critics point out that instead of lessening the role of coaching and learning by rote, the new system for IIT admissions would actually enhance it further.

For there will be pressure on students to go for private tuitions and coaching even at the school level. This in turn would cause further financial burden on parents, especially given the woeful quality of schools in large parts of the country, especially in small towns and rural areas.

417 - Coaching doesn’t guarantee entry to IITs, says Super 30 Anand - Deccan Herald

Coaching doesn’t guarantee entry to IITs, says Super 30 Anand

Bangalore, Jul 22, 2012, DHNS :

Eighty per cent of the students who get into the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) do not attend coaching classes, according to the renowned mathematician and founder of the Super 30 programme, Anand Kumar.

 “It’s a false notion that every IIT aspirant should attend coaching classes,” Kumar said. “Attending IIT tutorials does not guarantee you a place in premier institutes.” He was speaking at ‘Gateway to IITs’, a training workshop for students organised by Deccan Herald and Prajavani at the Shikshakara Bhavana here on Sunday.

According to Kumar, most of these students also go on to do well in semester examinations during the four-year course. He disagreed with the popular belief that students who are not taught the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) syllabus at II PUC/+2 level would be at a disadvantage while writing the Indian Science Engineering Eligibility Test (ISEET) next year.

There were numerous instances of students excelling in the national-level examination despite not having studied the NCF at the pre-university level, Kumar asserted. The mathematician is of the opinion that children should be groomed at an early age for the IITs.

Later in the afternoon session, Kumar gave tips to students on solving mathematical problems. “It’s like solving a murder mystery,” he said. “One should first prepare a strategy. Getting the first step right is very important.”

The following steps should be employed: Understand the problem: identify its logic and the target (what needs to be achieved). Understanding the unknown, finding the data, and the conditions are crucial. Kumar listed four prerequisites for success — tremendous thrust, positive thinking, continuous hard work and great patience.

Dr Ali Khwaja, Chairman of Banjara Academy, impressed upon them the importance of acquiring emotional intelligence. Dr Khwaja had a word of caution for parents. In his words, parents cannot pass the buck about their family members’ behaviour. He
urged parents to involve their children, especially the teenaged, in decision-making.

“They might not be interested. But make them feel that they are important,” he said.
The workshop was well received. Narendra, a teacher at Government Pre-University College, Kolar, said he didn’t know that emotional intelligence was such a diverse subject. Although he struggled to follow Kumar who spoke in Hindi, Narendra says the powerpoint presentation made up for that “shortcoming”.

Harindra Babu S attended the workshop along with his son Skanda Swaroop, a Class 9 student. He said that students lacked continuous hard work and patience. Vishwas U, a II PU student, found the workshop informative. “I wish a workshop is devoted entirely to mathematics,” he said.

Bank of Baroda presented the Sun Lifetime Achievement Award to Kumar.

416 - Dream of IIT? Cough up more fees SUSHMA U N - Hindu Business Line

Dream of IIT? Cough up more fees

SUSHMA U N

BANGALORE, JULY 5: 

Aspiring IITians will now have to cough up 15 per cent more fees after the new rule regarding entrance examinations for the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). Fees for a two-year IIT coaching programme currently costs anywhere between Rs 1.2 lakh and Rs 1.8 lakh.

After weeks of controversy regarding a single entrance exam for engineering programs at IITs, the IIT Council has declared students will have to be in the top 20 per cent in the Board exams, and will have to clear the IIT-JEE (Joint Entrance Examination) - both main and advanced, to qualify for IITs.

“Earlier, a student would know based on his performance whether he would qualify for IIT or not, but now it is relative to others’ performance, so he wouldn’t mind doing a little more to get more marks and reach the top 20 per cent, Mr Gautam Puri, cofounder of Career Launcher, said.

IIT-JEE training programmes typically include training for both Board exams and IIT-JEE but tests are given only for the JEE, so now we will have to start test series for Board exams as well and will charge additional fees for that, he said.

Kota-based Career Point too would conduct more tests for the board exams, and would “definitely increase fees for students,” Mr Pramod Maheshwari, Chief Executive Officer of the company said, adding that they would also put more pressure on students to do well in the Board examinations. Also, now that the Board exam percentage is given more importance, more students will opt for private tuitions to fall into the eligibility criteria, he added.

“Coaching institutes will be positively affected, and most institutes will now start giving integrated coaching programs, and hike fees,” Mr A.R.K.S. Srinivas, former Director of T.I.M.E Mumbai and CEO of coaching institute VistaMind, said.

Institutes would also tie up with colleges to offer coaching or most of them would soon start their own pre-university colleges for Class 12 and provide IIT training as part of the package, he added.

415 - New changes to affect higher education: DUTA - Deccan Herald

New changes to affect higher education: DUTA

New Delhi, Jul 10, 2012, DHNS :

Delhi University Teachers’ Association’s has slammed the proposed changes to be implemented soon in the university, saying they will have a negative impact on governnemnt’s higher education policies.

The changes include four-year graduation, BTech in Humanities with an option to pick and choose subjects and the Meta University project which is scheduled to start this July where students can choose courses from DU, Jamia Milia Islamia, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and Jawaharlal Nehru University and make a degree for themselves.

In a `report’ released on Tuesday, DUTA termed the changes as commodification of the higher education system.

“In the Meta University project no information has been given about the postgraduate courses. The teaching community has been ignored as these proposals weren’t even discussed with the teachers before being announced in the media,” said a DUTA member.

The report said no detailed vision paper on the proposed major overhauling of the existing system of undergraduate and postgraduate teaching at the university and the new academic programmes has come out till date.

DUTA said no concept papers have been discussed in the academic council. They have neither been circulated in the departments and colleges, nor are they available on the varsity website.

“The level of higher education is generally measured by its enrolment ratio. The gross enrolment ratio (GER) measures the access level by taking the ratio of persons in all age group between 18-23 years enrolled in various programmes. India GER was 12.6 per cent in higher education (in 2007),” said the report.

The US has 81 per cent, the UK has 54 per cent, Japan 49 per cent , Malaysia  27 per cent and China  23 per cent gross enrolment ratio .

The DUTA document claimed that changes in higher education structure will affect marginalised sections of the society the most. Especially women, Dalits and the economically underprivileged, are being rendered even more vulnerable than before, it said.

“Their access to socio-economic transformation through quality and inexpensive education is being put under a cloud of doubt,” said the report.

It added that the six education bills pending in Rajya Sabha will open doors for private players in the higher education scenario in state and Central universities, subsequently making it costly and inaccessible for many.

414 - Common Entrance Test formula cracked?

Common Entrance Test formula cracked?

By Bhama Devi Ravi / ENS

10th July 2012 01:26 PM

After months of uncertainty, the Union Ministry of Human Resources Development (HRD) and the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) finally agreed upon the formula for entrance exams to graduate courses at the IITs and other premier engineering institutions funded by the Centre. On June 27 both parties agreed to the new Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) where some weightage will be given to a student’s performance in the school board exams besides their performance in a two-level entrance exam.

What is the New JEE?

The new JEE features a main and an advanced exam as necessary to qualify for admissions to prestigious engineering colleges such as the IITs, the National Institutes of Technology (NIT) and the Indian Institutes for Information Technology (IIIT). But the entrance formula for the IITs is different from that for NITs and IIITs.

Those aspiring to get into IITs have to appear for a main exam and then qualify for an advanced exam. However, school board marks will play a crucial role in deciding whether a student can sit for the main entrance exam.

Only those who are in the top 20 percentile of successful students in their board exams can sit for the main exam. From this group, the top 1.5 lakh students will take the advanced exam and aspirants will be called for counselling based on an all India ranking . 

Question Marks Over New JEE

The new format will come into effect in the next academic year, 2013. However, a number of questions remain, including the all important one: How will the top 20 percentile of different boards be determined? Can the results of all the boards be synchronised to arrive by June end? These and many more questions will be raised by the student and teaching community and it is for the authorities to address them all before the exams begin in 2013.

The New Format

Students cannot depend upon performing well in the JEE alone any more. They have to give equal attention to their board exams if they want to get into a premier engineering institution. Currently many students opt for coaching classes where the focus is on giving them thorough practice in the kind of questions that will be asked in the IIT entrance exams. But not any more.

Based on their all India ranking after the advanced test students will be called for counselling. The JEE advanced exam will be administered by the IITs.

Eligibility for NITs

The National Institutes of Technology (NIT), which are funded by the Centre, will give 40 per cent weightage to board exam marks, 30 per cent to the score in the main JEE and 30 per cent to the advanced entrance exam.

Difference of Opinion

The HRD Ministry’s original proposal, driven by the concept of ‘one nation, one test’ was strongly contested by many IITs. The ministry originally suggested that 50 per cent weightage be given to school board exam marks and 50 per cent to the JEE entrance exam score. The thinking was that by making students focus on school education, they would end up having a stronger foundation.

IIT Kanpur and IIT Delhi rejected the earlier proposal  saying the proposed test was ‘academically unsound and procedurally untenable.”

Other IITs too felt that factoring in a huge slice of school board marks would water down the tough competitive spirit of the JEE. Almost all of them wanted to retain the current format, and even spoke of conducting their own entrance exams. The joint meeting on June 27 was aimed at arriving at a common ground. And a consensus did emerge. However, the way forward does not appear easy.

The Real Test

There are 29 different school boards in India and over two million students appear for the various school leaving board examinations every year. Experts say that this year the last percentile of a CBSE board student stood at 78 and while it was the  same with the Tamil Nadu State Board the figure was 69 in the UP School Board Exams. The big question is whether all the board marks be normalised. Another grey area is in the computing of percentile. Whether the marks of major subjects alone be used to calculate the percentile or will all five or six subjects (as the case may be) be taken into account entirely?

Different school  boards  offer various streams, but a majority of those sitting for the JEE come from  math, physics, chemistry and computer science  streams. How will the numbers be determined? Again, will the percentile be determined by the number of students who pass the school board exam or will it be determined by the number of students who sit for the board exams.

Huge Numbers: Are Logisitics in Place?

This year over 5,00,000 students appeared for the JEE entrance exams. Based on their JEE scores, students were called for counselling and offered admission to the 15 IITs, the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad and the Banaras Hindu University (now upgraded to IIT status). For the new format to come into effect in 2013, the various boards have to declare their exam results by June end.

To conduct the exams weeks apart calls for a lot of logistics support and a huge database complete with details of caste so that students can apply appropriately. The format of the advanced exam is opaque as on date, say educationists. The teaching and student body is looking to the various IIT Senates for answers to the plaguing questions.

Burdened by Entrance Exams

After much debate and discussion,  the HRD Ministry’s ‘one nation, one test’ concept is still far away, say experts. Students are still forced to sit for multiple entrance exams, and the wide disparity among educational institutions is a reality, they add. Educationists feel that there should be only one common entrance exam for the deemed universities. Although Tamil Nadu did away with entrance exams for entry into government-run professional colleges for both engineering and medicine, students in many states still  have to bear the burden of more than one entrance examination.

The new JEE will hopefully begin to systematically address the large issue of multiple entrance tests and pave the way for a true test of knowledge and not mere preparedness.

413 - In new IIT entrance test, cut-offs to vary widely across boards

In new IIT entrance test, cut-offs to vary widely across boards

Vanita Shrivastava, Hindustan Times

New Delhi, July 16, 2012

In a quirky scenario, a student of the West Bengal class 12 board will need just 58% to be eligible to take the IIT-Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) next year while an aspirant from the Tamil Nadu board will have to score nearly 78% to make the cut. 

Preliminary data of seven boards across the country shows that the percentage required to be in the top 20 percentile — a necessary condition to be eligible for IIT-JEE next year — will vary for different boards.

The new pattern for IIT will have two exams— mains and advanced.

The final rank will depend on the performance in the advanced exam, provided a student is in the top 20 percentile of his or her board.

So far, the eligibility criterion for IITs was that a student should score a minimum of 60%.

The new pattern changes all that. So, if you're a student who wants to make it to the top 20 percentile bracket this year, you'd have to score 77.8% in the CBSE board, 78.1% in the Tamil Nadu board, 67.5% in Karnataka, 65% in Uttar Pradesh, 64% in Madhya Pradesh and just 58% in the West Bengal board exam.

These figures would apply only for general category students.

For students seeking to take the test under various quotas, it would be less.

Separate data will be compiled for these categories soon.

The Council of Boards of School Education (COBSE), which compiled the data this year, said all state boards have been asked to put up their percentage figures in the public domain soon.

"Once the student knows the percentage, he (or she) can prepare for professional entry into IITs accordingly. There will be just minor variations in this figure every year," sources in COBSE said.

"Next year, the numbers would fluctuate around this data. So, an IIT aspirant can know how much he or she should aim for in the boards," said Gautam Baruah, IIT-Guwahati director.

Sources said the ICSE, CBSE, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu boards are most likely to be in the highest percentage bracket. Boards such as those of West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar will be at the lower end.

412 - Engineers are not the end-product - The Hindu

Engineers are not the end-product

July 14, 2012

RAVI KUMAR TADEPALLI

IIT toppers take high-paying jobs in non-engineering companies.

Over the years the Indian Institutes of Technology have proved their excellence in engineering education. Two main reasons were the selection of students and the fantastic faculty. The JEE produced the best students and the faculty moulded into the best in the world. The goal of the students was excellence in technology and being the best in this field.

But that was some time ago. Times have changed.

A student came up to me and asked which branch of engineering he should take to complete the IIT easily and get into an Indian Institute of Management. Students ask for internship in banks and help from the alumni for this endeavour. A III B. Tech student asks for opportunities in music at an entrepreneur meet in an IIT. IIT toppers take high-paying jobs in non-engineering companies.

All these may seem stray cases. But isn’t it surprising that the top placement firms in the IITs are consulting, IT, banking and insurance? They seem to be taking away the chunk of the toppers. The number of B.Tech students opting for higher studies in engineering and research also seems to have declined.

The IITs were formed to improve technology and produce world-class engineers and scientists. But they have now been reduced to a brand image without the zing of engineering. The goal of students seems to be cracking the JEE, and not engineering. All these students are confident of completing the course with at least 5 point CGPA. Not really interested in engineering.

What is the reason? The quality of the students? The curriculum? The teachers or the lack of them? The parents? The coaching classes? The market opportunities for engineers? The JEE itself?

The coaching classes seem to have mastered a way of cracking the JEE. The student is bright and taught the methodology of cracking the JEE. Maybe, the JEE must not be so structured as we have it now. Maybe, it should be more randomised in the type of questions. Maybe, the questions should be related to more practical aspects of engineering. But if you want to be a top-notch engineer, it takes much more than that and years of painstaking learning in industry. Is it possible that the student is not aware of this aspect of engineering? Can the JEE bring this aspect to the fore?

Sometimes, parents force their children into the IITs because of their brand image. I wonder how many of them insist that their children stick to engineering as a career option?

Engineering seems to be one of the few fields where there is no compulsory internship like in medicine, law and CA. This is one of the reasons why students may not be fully aware of the beauty and possibilities of engineering.

Engineering is also a field which is like a joker in a pack of cards. The graduates fit into any career! Naturally, the student will graduate into a more lucrative/easier career. Would a barrier to this help in getting committed students?

Imagine the plight of the professors! They have to deal with more number of uninterested students. They teach engineering knowing fully well that very few of their students are going to use what they are taught. What can be more demoralising to the teacher in a professional course? With the number of institutes multiplying, can there be enough teachers of that high calibre? We seem to be diluting the importance of a temple of excellence.

Once upon a time, we were grappling with brain drain when most of the IITians went abroad. Now we have a great environment and demand for good engineers but we don't have them! True, it is a field where you need to build a reputation over time and the remuneration does not come as fast. It requires a great deal of passion to become a good engineer.

Does all this mean that the IITs have lost their relevance? To a certain extent, yes. They are not serving their basic purpose. If the IITs cannot produce great engineers, the purpose is defeated. We are unable to get the students interested in engineering. Yet, we are increasing the number of the IITs.

We are probably producing good thinkers at the IITs, which is why other fields are picking up the students. So should we rename it the Indian Institute of Thinkers?

(The writer is an IITian. Email: rkbala@hotmail.com)

411 - India slips in QS rankings, IIT-B, IIT-Delhi only saving grace

India slips in QS rankings, IIT-B, IIT-Delhi only saving grace

10 Jul 2012

The QS Asian University rankings for 2012 are out and Indian institutes have fared poorly in the rankings. The only exceptions are Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, and IIT Delhi. While IIT Bombay is up by four notches (from 38 to 34 in 2012), IIT Delhi is up from 37 to 36 this year.

QS is one of the world’s leading networks in career and education. Yet again, while no Indian institute has made it to the top 30 in overall rankings, only four have made it to the top 50 among 300 Asian institutes this year.

Last year, five had featured in the top 50. An analysis of rankings from 2009 to 2012 reveals that no Indian institute has made it to top 10 and only one ranked in the top 30 since then (IIT Bombay in 2009).

“It’s not that institutes or universities in India are not doing well. These rankings assess several factors and we tend to lose points on many of these indicators, which include international faculty and international students. 

Further, while the rankings look at various subjects, IITs and our universities will lose points on a specific subject like medicine,” said a senior academician.

All the five older IITs have slipped in their overall rankings, IIT Kanpur climbing down the most by 11 places from 36 to 47 this year. While IIT Guhawati is down from 82 to 89, IIT Kharagpur is down from 48 to 56. IIT Madras is ranked at 45, down by two places from last year and IIT Roorkee slipped from 56 to 65. Except Delhi University, no other Indian university, including Mumbai, Pune and Calcutta universities feature in the top 100. All the four have slipped in their rankings.

Mumbai University, for instance has gone down the ladder steadily, from 96 in 2010 to 145 in 2011 and 151-160 this year. While Delhi University is ranked 78, it is down by one point from last year. Calcutta University too has come down gradually, from 99 in 2010 and 115 in 2011 to 143 this year. The worst show this year has been put up by Pune University which has been ranked between 191-200 this year. 

Besides the overall rankings that cover several parameters like research and teaching, internationalization, a publication etc, QS also ranks the Asian universities by faculty (subjects) and by criterion (like faculty-student ratio).

Among the rankings by criteria, none of the Indian institutes could bag a slot in the top 200 for “international students” and “international faculty”. In “faculty-student” too, no Indian institute figures in the top 100. The Indian institutes have performed comparatively better in “academic reputation” and “employer reputation”.

For instance, in employer reputation, IIT Bombay is ranked seventh and IIT Delhi and University of Delhi 16th and 17th respectively. The other institutes in the top 50 are IIT Madras (22), Mumbai University (25), IIT Kanpur (28) and Pune University (48). In academic reputation, IIT Bombay (29), IIT Delhi (37), Delhi University (38) and IIT Madras (49) are among the top 50. In papers per faculty too, Indian institutes have done well with IIT Delhi ranking five and IIT Kanpur nine.

[Source: Indian Express]