Why CET compromise is not such a good thing

The JEE has just lost its familiar face. It will now be a two-tier affair, and influenced to a greater extent by board examinations. It was enough for any JEE aspirant till this year to score 60% in 12th standard but henceforth, she will need to be in the top 20 percentile of her board.

Loosely put, percentile depicts the ranking of a student among others in her board. So, some state boards with fewer students could have students scoring 70% in its top 20 percentile while some overpopulated or high-performing ones may have to cut off the 20 percentile at 85%. Assuming a student from each of these boards gets past JEE next year, the former will make it to an IIT whereas the latter will not. The JEE has just got tougher and perhaps unfair.

This, however, seemed to be the best bet for the IIT faculty, whose biggest anxiety was retaining the admission standard of students as well as retaining control over the admission process. It has bargained hard all the way. It was suggested by the human resources development ministry during negotiations that the IITs could set the JEE main paper and evaluate the answer sheets, but the CBSE would take over the conduct of the examination. This was roundly rejected by the IITs as it was neither here nor there.

Neither authority would then be accountable for potential paper leaks and other administrative snags. The IITs have so far managed a blemish-free conduct of JEEs through a rigorous system of checks and balances and didn’t appreciate the need for a change. Eventually, it has been decided that the full responsibility for JEE main test will rest with the CBSE, while the IITs will retain complete hold over the JEE advanced test.

In their meetings, the IITs had also argued for implementing the new formula after two years and for setting a reasonable percentile cut-off but had to relent on both. There are genuine concerns about how the high percentile cut-off will pan out. It’s not clear what happens if students do not make the 20 percentile in their board examination after getting admitted to an IIT. Some boards declare results after the IIT admissions, in which case students not making the grade may have to drop out.

The percentile business could and will put a few deserving ones out of the loop. If one has not still heard of any PIL on the matter yet, it is perhaps because parents are awaiting the official order. Most higher secondary boards don’t usually declare percentile marks but will now have to start. Ideally, the cut-off should have been a realistic benchmark based on a sound study of the scores of IIT students in their boards. The new formula, however, has been arrived at in a hurry and is meant to be an icebreaker rather than a meaningful solution. It has other parts that need clarity.  For instance, the relaxation in the cut-off for SC and ST categories is not clear yet.

The new recipe is set to face a testing time next year but one thing seems evident. The HRD ministry will be a little cautious next time now that it is established that it is the individual IIT Senates, rather than the IIT Council, an all-India body with government nominees, that call the shots on the campuses.