LET THE TRUE STAKEHOLDERS DECIDE!!!

With the MHRD, coming up with a common entrance test and new ranking procedure for undergraduate engineering courses , a wind of conflict have once again entangled the students, professors ,directors and senates of IITs ,Ministry and the concerned ones after two and a half years of considering the issue at first. IIT council is claiming that the intention behind the decision is to lessen the stress on the students because of multiple exams. Should a student not be asked about it first?

In fact it’ll even worsen the situation, as the student will have the pressure of performing in all the three; board exams, JEE main and JEE advanced to secure a rank which should be competitive enough for entering in any prestigious college of the country. As per the present system, if a brilliant student could not perform well in JEE by chance, he or she can get admission in NITs or in any reputable centrally funded institutes by fetching good marks in AIEEE or other engineering entrance exams.

Secondly, the members of councils with the opinion that the importance of the schooling system has to be revived in larger public interest by giving due weightage to the performance of students in Class XII Board examinations and at the same time maintain the credibility and integrity of admissions to higher institutes of technical education, should know that both conditions cannot be achieved simultaneously unless the standard of the school education in India is meliorated through  sustained efforts..

The most stunning facts which impelled me to write this article are:  

•   Mr Kapil Sibbal and many more from the council, the ‘self-proclaimed stakeholders’ of improving education quality in colleges, consider inclusion of board marks in screening to be a solution for putting a halt on large number of coaching centres emerging everywhere.
•   According to them, It’ll also make students more concerned towards board exams, which is essential for a good academic curriculum.
•   The statement by IIT kgp director, prof. Damodar Acharya that he is agree with the proposal of council as students with better Board performance will now get a chance to get into IITs. These students shall perform better than students who have cracked the JEE with poorer school performance. ( how?)
•   HRD Minister Kapil Sibbal claimed on TV that he is proud that the proposals have been passed without dissent.

How the people living with their own pre-assumptions can decide the fate of lakhs of aspirants and prestigious technological institutes?                                                                                      

Considering the first three points I must say that any student who has taken coaching for JEE at an average coaching institute will easily tell the story. People mulling over the number of students clearing JEE through coaching should be aware of the fact that coaching institutes not only sharpen the concepts which are essential to attempt JEE questions but also provide a competitive environment which makes students capable of passing any engineering entrance exam. They also measure the performance of students by conducting periodic evaluation tests and through these tests students also get to know their mistakes. Some of them even provide IITian and or NITian teachers  who can guide the students in a best possible way.

On the other hand, good marks can easily be attained in board exams, simply by mugging some repetitive questions coming in the exams over the years or learning an artistic way of writing the answer. Neither the teachers in the school give stress on the conceptual learning nor the books provided by council of board exams are so advanced which enable students to cope with the JEE standard. I have a friend of mine who had topped the state in board and couldn’t even get a seat in an average college in my hometown through AIEEE.

The inclusion of 40% weightage of boards in the screening process too will be a malpractice because of huge amount of disparity in state board exams which cannot be covered even after the normalisation. For eg. Some areas within the state are known for rampant copying and some are not. Practical exams are travesty in some schools of the states. Obviously, these schools will become crowded with the students, for getting marks, as high as possible leading to further deterioration of the education system.

 As far as coaching centres are concerned even after giving weightage to the board marks, students will approach the coaching centres which can provide them coaching for both in boards as well as in JEE main and JEE advanced. At last, the ones who will pay the cost, will be the students preparing hard for JEE and the IITs who have been maintaining their status for a very long time through a credible and efficient system of producing brilliant minds of the country. So instead of lowering the standard of institutes, Mr. Sibbal should shift his concern to the wretched condition of government schools of India which is the root cause of the issue.

Coming to the last point, perhaps 5 out of the 7 IIT senates contending for maintaining their status quo, IIT Kanpur having determined to go with its own exam, IIT- Delhi Alumni Association’s decision to file a PIL petition against the new JEE and All India IIT faculty federation virtually rejecting the common test, don’t count as dissent for the Union minister. He can be a good lawyer and can boast his decision with the support of 5 directors of IITs out of the 7 but the authenticity lies in letting the true stakeholders, who are students, alumni, senate, faculty and future aspirants, take the decision through mutual agreement.