No National Level Exit Exam For BTech Grads To Test Employability

AICTE has issued an official notification to clarify that the council is Not contemplating the implementation of GATE as the national level exit exam for engineering students to test employability. Expressing concern over media speculations, AICTE has also issued an official notification to clarify the matter.

Recently, there has been news around AICTE looking to introduce an exit examination for students pursuing technical education. There were assumptions made that the government is keen on using GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) in a new avatar for the purpose. The idea being to assess students on the basis of their technical skills to further make them eligible for jobs in the industry.

The exam was expected to be more like a common employability test which engineering students may have to take before appearing for their final BTech degree exam.

An official source was quoted as saying, "About 80% to 90% of engineering students take GATE every year as it is mandatory for admissions to MTech. Many public sector undertakings hire engineering students on the basis of their GATE scores".

Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangaluru conduct GATE each year for admissions to MTech programmes offered by engineering colleges across India.

GATE exit exam speculations:

Here's how the proposed exit exam was expected to look like if brought into effect.

• The exam may or may not become mandatory for students pursuing technical courses.
• The exit exam was likely to become compulsory for all engineering colleges, including the private ones requiring them to participate in this nationwide test.
• The test scores would be shared with employers in both the public and private sectors.
• The exam was expected to improve the quality of tech institutes across the country.
• On the basis of a student's performance, institutes would be encouraged to take measures to improve their standards.

One of the AICTE officials was quoted as saying, "Continuation of the AICTE approval to the engineering programmes of the institution will depend on their response to the proposed test. It will be their responsibility to encourage their students to take the test".

Recently, the Medical Council of India (MCI) too recommended a mandatory National Exit Test (NEXT) to qualify as doctors.

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