New JEE Pattern.

The recent decision of the Human Resource Development Ministry regarding the IIT JEE has stirred the hornet's nest. Few IIT aspirants protested in front of IITD main gate against the new ceiling on the number of attempts to seek admission to the Indian Institutes of Technology. This is just plain unfortunate as the IIT officials are yet to discuss this with the ministry and put their stamp of approval on the decision. The ministry seems quite adament on accepting the recommendations of an expert committee headed by eminent scientist C N R Rao, which had recommended simplification of the Joint Entrance Examination by not only restricting it to the syllabus of Class XII level, but also introducing a single test system instead of the two examinations (screening and main) being held at present. According to the new norms the students will get only two attempts and if they get admission in the first attempt they cannot write the test again to change the IIT. Moreover, candidates securing 60 per cent in the XII standard exams could be allowed to sit for the JEE. The entrance exam could include a short write-up on a topic in physics, chemistry or mathematics, followed by objective questions based on the write-up.

Inspite of all the halla, I feel the is not all that bad. However, their rationale behind this doesn't make much sense to me. Arjun Singh, the HRD Minister, has spoken time and again about new system reducing the stress on the aspirants, but as I understand it, the stress originates from the competition and not the toughness of the exam. The role of the exam is plainly to select the most suitable candidates from all who take the exam. Now, in a grossly over-populated nation like India and very small number of seats, it's only natural that many deserving candidates can't make it through. The current IIT JEE might not allow every deserving candidate through, but very seldom does it let in a student who shouldn't be there. Now, if we change the pattern to have just objective kind of paper, it would just increase the amount of noise. The IIMs have a similar kind of procedure; they have CAT, which is objective type paper, and then based on the background plus the CAT score they invite candidates for another round of interview and group discussion. In the new JEE pattern, the students will be selected only on the basis of an objective style paper. As for the stress, it can't go down unless we increase the number of seats. The HRD ministry has made good progress in that direction too. The Union ministry of human development resources has called seven select engineering colleges for discussions for a third time in less than four months (read this).

Another claim made by the ministry says that this rule would cut down or totally eliminate the influence of coaching classes on the entrance. Currently, about 30-40% of successful candidates come from the town of Kota in Rajasthan, made famous by numerous coaching institutes. I attended Bansal Classes, Kota for two years during the last two years of my schooling and at the end of it I cleared JEE. From my personal experience, if these coaching institutes can give you anything, its just a hectic but effective study schedule. The students are picked after a rigorous round of entrance exam for the coaching institutes, thus ensuring that they get the best of the lots. Capability is already there, they just have to give them some tough practice and confidence. They do so by weekly quizzes, daily problem solving sessions and putting the students in competitive, yet stimulating environment. If such is the case, how can this be "curbed" by changing the pattern? The problem with these coaching institutes is that they introduce a bias towards students whose families can bear the burden of their fees. Very seldom would you see a student in IIT who has not attended *any* coaching institute. The arrival of coaching institutes, with their hefty fees, has made it virtually impossible for the students from modest backgrounds to compete with their well coached competitors from affluent backgrounds. Some coaching institutes provide scholarships to talented students from humble backgrounds, but that really doesn't cut deep. (An inspiring tale here).

The decision to put a cieling on the number of attempts makes good sense to me, but the ministry should consider the case of numerous students who might have refused seats in IITs and NITs or other institutes to take another shot at the JEE '06. It would be preposterous to deny them, especially after the academic session in already midway.