The Ministry of Human Resource Development has ratified new criteria for admission to the Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs), paving the way for participation of more students in counselling from next year.
Until now, students in the top 20 percentile of Class XII marks alone were eligible for entry into IITs. As a result, those who scored well in the Joint Entrance Examination, but failed to make it to the top 20 percentile were denied admission. Under the new rules, those who have scored 75 per cent marks in Class XII will also be eligible.
“After a lengthy deliberation, the IIT Council has decided that in addition to the 20 percentile condition, you will also have the marks secured formula,” said MHRD Secretary Ashok Thakur.
Call to include private varsities in all-India ranking
The draft ranking system for universities in the country is being finalized by IIT Madras and IIT Kanpur.
Speaking at the Council of the IITs here on Monday, MHRD Secretary, Ashok Thakur said, “The international ranking system is not applicable to India as it does not consider the initiatives for people with diverse social background. Once the framework is ready, the parameters for all funded institutions will be fixed.”
Once the system is in place, it will be applicable to all institutions funded by the University Grants Commission and the All India Institute of Technical Education, Mr. Thakur said.
S. Vaidhyasubramaniam, dean – planning and development, SASTRA University, felt as the JEE (Main) achieved the intended purpose for the IITs, the JEE-Advanced should be dispensed with.
“Since many private technical universities and colleges were “doing better work than some Centrally funded technical institutes” they should also be included in the ranking system, he said. The ministry must mandate that all deemed universities should also adopt the JEE–Main for their admission to avoid multiplicity of entrance exams and instead consider national testing facility, he said.
The Ministry of Human Resources Development has ratified new criteria for admission to the Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs), paving the way for participation of more students in counselling from next year.
Candidates in the General/Other Backward Class/Non Creamy Layer category who have secured 75 per cent and students under the SC/ST/disabled category with 70 per cent score will benefit from the change. Last year 200 students with top scores could not make it to the premier institutions.
Alumni Centre
The IIT alumni have decided to set up a centre in Bangalore in an effort to bring the industry and academia together. The initiative was mooted by IIT-Bombay.
Source: TH
