Sibal says: To take JEE, score 80-85% in Std XII

Human resource development (HRD) minister Kapil Sibal has asked the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to raise the eligibility bar for their Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) from 60% marks in the class 12 board to 80-85%. Implementation is likely from the 2011-12 session. The present eligibility bar was introduced three years back by the IITs’ joint admission board (JAB). Before that, the JEE was open to anyone who passed class 12, albeit in the science  (mathematics) stream.

Sibal said the move is intended to discourage the “coaching class culture”. “It is found that students do not take their school examinations seriously and concentrate more on coaching classes. Sixty per cent marks are not acceptable. The IITs should not allow students who score less than 80% in the class 12 examinations,” Sibal said after meeting IIT directors on Monday in New Delhi.

He said raising the eligibility bar would also make students focus more on their “regular studies”, which will help them gain conceptual knowledge, and level the field for students who come from poor backgrounds and so cannot afford coaching classes.

“Many students, particularly from poor and rural backgrounds, fail to make it to the IITs… One solution is to give more weightage to the class 12 marks,” he said.

The minister has set up a three-member committee — comprising science and technology secretary T Ramasamy, biotechnology secretary MK Bhan and CSIR director-general Sameer Brahmachari — to study his proposal; the panel will submit its report within three months.

Some parents and educationists welcomed the move, but felt a bar of 80-85% is too high. “The ideal should be 70-75%, which is not difficult to achieve for serious students. Since the JEE has the same syllabus as the CBSE, it is easy for students attending classes sincerely to crack the examination,” said Bharati Sharma, principal, Amity School, New Delhi. “I have many students who have cracked the JEE without attending coaching classes.”

Pankaj Jha, father of an IIT aspirant, said: “Sixty per cent is too little, but the eligibility marks should not be more than 75%. For many studying at coaching centres, particularly in Kota (Rajasthan), school education becomes irrelevant as they directly focus on solving questions without a conceptual grasp.

“Some students who make it to an IIT in this manner drop out by the second year since are unable to cope.”

However, a former IIT (Bombay) JEE chairman, N Venkataramani, and an IIT-B student, Nishant R Totla, said changing the eligibility criterion will not make any difference to those who clear the JEE since they also score high marks in the board examinations. “It has been observed that those who do very well in classes 10 and 12 are mostly the ones who do well in the JEE,” Venkataramani said. Totla, who had secured the second rank in JEE 2008, agreed.

Coaching institutes, understandably, are unhappy. “Such a decision should not be taken,” said Vivek Khanna, vice president, Resonance, a Mumbai-based coaching centre. “Many students in the 60-80% range clear the JEE. Changing the current eligibility norm will make such students overburdened. Also, one must understand that a student who clears the JEE necessarily has a good grasp of the basics.”

(With inputs from Mihika Basu)

Sibal says: To take JEE, score 80-85% in Std XII

The minister has set up a three-member committee — comprising science and technology secretary T Ramasamy, biotechnology secretary MK Bhan and CSIR director-general Sameer Brahmachari — to study his proposal; the panel will submit its report within three months.
Some parents and educationists welcomed the move, but felt a bar of 80-85% is too high. “The ideal should be 70-75%, which is not difficult to achieve for serious students. Since the JEE has the same syllabus as the CBSE, it is easy for students attending classes sincerely to crack the examination,” said Bharati Sharma, principal, Amity School, New Delhi. “I have many students who have cracked the JEE without attending coaching classes.”
Pankaj Jha, father of an IIT aspirant, said: “Sixty per cent is too little, but the eligibility marks should not be more than 75%. For many studying at coaching centres, particularly in Kota (Rajasthan), school education becomes irrelevant as they directly focus on solving questions without a conceptual grasp.
“Some students who make it to an IIT in this manner drop out by the second year since are unable to cope.”
However, a former IIT (Bombay) JEE chairman, N Venkataramani, and an IIT-B student, Nishant R Totla, said changing the eligibility criterion will not make any difference to those who clear the JEE since they also score high marks in the board examinations. “It has been observed that those who do very well in classes 10 and 12 are mostly the ones who do well in the JEE,” Venkataramani said. Totla, who had secured the second rank in JEE 2008, agreed.
Coaching institutes, understandably, are unhappy. “Such a decision should not be taken,” said Vivek Khanna, vice president, Resonance, a Mumbai-based coaching centre. “Many students in the 60-80% range clear the JEE. Changing the current eligibility norm will make such students overburdened. Also, one must understand that a student who clears the JEE necessarily has a good grasp of the basics.”
With inputs from Mihika Basu