Centre forms another committee to review NIT admission

The decision on making Joint Entrance Examination-Main (JEE-Main) scores the sole basis for entry into National Institutes of Technology (NITs) has been deferred with HRD minister Smriti Irani headed NIT council deciding to form a committee that will further examine the issue and make its recommendations for action.

The decision on making Joint Entrance Examination-Main (JEE-Main) scores the sole basis for entry into National Institutes of Technology (NITs) has been deferred with HRD minister Smriti Irani headed NIT council deciding to form a committee that will further examine the issue and make its recommendations for action.

HRD minister Smriti Irani addresses the media during the monsoon session of Parliament.(PTI)

Earlier the sub-committee of the NIT council had recommended that class 12 board marks should not be taken into account for admissions into the NITs and instead the JEE-Main scores be made the only basis for entry into the technical institutes.

The recommendation of the sub-committee was expected to be ratified by the NIT council.

However the decision of the council to once again refer the issues to another committee means the admissions to NITs for academic year 2016-17 is likely to be done as per the existing practice under which 40% weight is given to board marks and 60% to the JEE-Main score.

Sources said the decision to form another committee was taken after some NIT directors said the weightage system had helped many girl students get an entry into the NITs.

“Since there was no consensus on the issue, the HRD minister decided to form another committee,” an official said.

The recommendations to do away with the system from the sub-committee had come in the backdrop of failure of the CBSE to come out with JEE-Main ranking lists on time due to delays by state boards in submitting Class 12 marks.

A number of state boards, including those of Bihar, Jharkhand, Telangana, Assam, Kerala and Karnataka, have delayed submitting their results in the past, leading to delays in publishing ranking lists which in turn delayed the joint counselling for admissions to IITs and NITs.

Also the demand of the NITs and IITs for one examination instead of JEE Main and JEE Advance will be examined by the core committee.

Both IITs and NITs have been demanding one phase examination instead of two.

Under the two-phase test introduced in 2012, the JEE (main) was the first stage that also formed the basis for selection to the NITs, IIITs and centrally funded technical institutions. Those who cleared this test could appear for the JEE (advance) conducted exclusively for the IITs.