JEE 2013 directives awaited on May 28

By Ruchi Shrimali

IIT senates have been protesting tooth and nail to keep IIT JEE in its existing form. The government has proposed the two-tier JEE exam format and inclusion of board marks while drawing the merit list for the exam. IIT directors agree to the proposed format but IIT senates think that the implementation of the new exam format should be given more time and consideration. They advocate that the new JEE exam should be implemented only in 2014, with a few changes.

Here is a low-down on what the hullabaloo is about:

Government’s Proposal

The HRD Ministry has proposed to hold a common national-level engineering entrance exam that will replace IIT JEE, AIEEE, and other state-level engineering entrance exams. The new JEE exam will comprise Main and Advanced exams, which will be conducted on the same date. 

It has also been proposed that the merit list after the Main exams will give equal weightage to marks of Class XII Board exams as well as scores in the Main exam. While all the candidates may appear for the Advanced test, only the papers of the first 50,000 students on the merit list will be checked. States or the institutes will have the freedom to decide what weightage to give to the board exams, scores of the Main exam, and scores of the Advanced exam for the final merit list. Read more

JEE Main exam will have a multiple-choice format and will evaluate students on comprehension, critical thinking and logical reasoning. At least, 40% weightage will be given to marks in board exams while drawing the merit list of students eligible for Advanced exam.

Dr T Ramasami committee has come up with a statistical process to normalize marks across boards with the help of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI).

The format of JEE Advanced exam is not decided yet. It would test the problem-solving abilities of candidates in the basic science subjects. 

Why IIT senates are opposing the proposal?

IIT senates, faculty and alumni feel that the Main exam should only be used as a basic screening process by the IITs and the Advanced exam should be theoretical, have subjective questions, and be defined by the Joint Admission Board (JAB) of the IITs. 

They are also asking for a ‘lean’ period of one year and want the new format to be implemented not before 2014, so that there is enough time to consider the new exam pattern well. 

Largely, IIT senates are not conviced that the statistical process suggested by T Ramasami committee will be able to normalize exam scores across the country’s education boards effectively. They think that normalization process needs more thorough research based on the data of board results of 2012. Hence, they deem that giving 40% weightage to board marks will be unfair to students at the merit list level. They propose that board marks can be used as eligibility criteria for Main exams instead.

Why is there a need for the change in exam pattern in the first place?

The government and directors of all the 15 IITs agree that the quality of students clearing IIT JEE these days is going downhill, due to the coaching culture taking roots across the country. These coaching centers use rote learning and tips and tricks to crack IIT JEE as their main tools for aiding students make it through the exam. Hence, students are paying less attention to their school education and IIT JEE is no longer effective in picking up ‘raw intelligence’. 

By making board marks an important component of JEE merit list, the government hopes to encourage students to pay more attention to what is being taught in school and gain a more holistic development of their mental faculties. 

A common engineering entrance exam at all-India level will also reduce the financial and mental pressure on students who give several engineering entrance exams in the hope of securing a seat. Read more

IIT Guwahati is the only IIT to fully endorse government’s proposal. The final decision on JEE 2013 is awaited on May 28.

Do you agree with government’s viewpoint on JEE 2013? Share your thoughts here.

Other interesting reads:

- IIT faculty wants JEE to stay  

- JEE may have two-step admission process