Sibal proposal: Score 80% in Class XII for IIT

AFTER MAKING the class X board exams optonal and introducing a grade system, the Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal  announced that the eligibility criteria of 60 per cent marks in Class XII for appearing in IIT JEE (Joint Entrance Examination) will be raised to 80 per cent from 2011.

According to the HRD ministry, the criteria has been changed so that students’ attention will be more focused on the board exam at Class-XII. They felt that it was a significant move to check the mushrooming of coaching centres, which are thriving on imparting coaching to students for IIT-JEE, mentioned the ministry sources.
The minister announced this decision, after meeting with the IIT Council. He said, “The present criteria is that students need to secure 60 per cent at class-XII for appearing in IIT-JEE. This is not acceptable. The minimum marks required for IIT-JEE could be raised up to 80 to 85 per cent”. When asked about variation in marking across various states of the country, the HRD Minister said the percentile would also become a major factor.

With the aim to bring back the focus on research and long-term reforms, the IIT Council also decided to set up a five-member committee under the guidance of Anil Kakodkar, the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. The committee will suggest a broad roadmap for the IITs for the next 10 years. The committee has to give its report in next six months, outlining broad areas of reforms required for the elite institutes, to make them global brands.

Besides these, the committee will also come up with a vision document for the IITs for the year 2020. The document will suggest measures on how the IITs can collaborate with private sector in IT, bio-tech and other emerging areas. “They will suggest how the IITs need to move forward. The committee will specify on how to give more emphasis on research and how the IITs can be more involved in the national projects for development,” said HRD Minister Kapil Sibal.