IIT Bombay set to moot tougher entry rule

If the IIT Bombay senate recommendation is accepted by the IIT Council, you might have to be among the top 50,000 candidates to qualify for the Advanced Test for admission into the IITs.

The IIT Bombay (IIT-B) senate, which met on Wednesday, is likely to recommend the reduction of candidates appearing for the Advanced Test from 1,50,000 to 50,000 to the IIT Council. The senate has however agreed to all the other steps of the new process.

The row that followed the MHRD (ministry of human resource department) mooting a single national level entrance test for admission to engineering courses, was finally resolved after the JAB (Joint Board of Admission) intervened with a compromise formula in June.

“Initially the number of 1,50,000 was decided considering that even the NIT (National Institute of Technology) admissions will be done based on the Advanced Test score. However, the NITs have now decided that they will be considering only the Main Test scores. So there is no point conducting the Advanced Test for such a large number of candidates,” explained the professor.

Meanwhile, the recommendation in the number of candidates appearing for the Advanced Test indicates the possibility of a return to subjective testing. “Considering the demand  for subjective tests from faculties, it is better to restrict the number of candidates lesser to make it more practical and  ensure flexibility,” said another senate member.