An assessment by IIT Kharagpur concludes that reforms carried out by IITs in their entrance exam system have achieved desired results.
NEW DELHI: The reforms carried out by the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in their Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) system this year seems to have achieved the intended results.
In its first year of reforms in the IIT-JEE, not only did the maximum number of students make it in their very first attempt but also a large number of students from small towns and villages bagged seats in the centers of excellence.
An IIT-Kharagpur assessment report released by ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) indicated a record 2,99,288 candidates registering for JEE 2006, showing an increase of about 51% from 1,98,059 since last year. In a quantum jump from 28.49% last year, 43.50% (2,761) candidates made it to the IITs in their first attempt this year. The age group of those qualifying in the first attempt is between 16 to 19 years.
Despite little access to coaching centers, it’s the students from small towns and villages who have won accolades. The proportion of successful candidates belonging to small towns and villages has increased to 30.67%, as compared to 28.02% last year. On the contrary, there has been a decline in the candidates from cities making it to IITs with figures going down from 71.98% last year to 69.37% in 2006. Among the approximate 6,500 seats, about 2000 students qualified from small towns and villages while the number from cities is 4,400.
“The proportional increase in the percentage from smaller towns indicates reduced dependence on coaching centers to which candidates from small towns and villages have no access to,” said a ministry official.
But the best news is that the format has helped reduce stress among students. Several candidates and their parents, who came for counseling, reported that with screening tests gone, the single stage JEE-2006 system has drastically reduced the stress of the candidates.
Since application fee for female candidates was halved from Rs600 to Rs300 this year, their participation increased from 29,291 last year to 58,997 this year. However, there was only a marginal increase in their success rate. The report also says that the new pattern of question papers examining analytical ability, comprehension skills, and aptitude of the candidates were a big hit among candidates.
Last year, bold changes were announced in the format of IIT-JEE by scrapping the screening exams and making school results an important factor in the admission process.
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