JEE reforms: Ministry sends draft to IIT-B faculty

Faculty members of the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B), who are opposing the joint entrance exam (JEE) reforms, have received a draft document from the human resources development (HRD) ministry before the seven-member panel meets them on Monday. Bhavya Dore reports.

Faculty members of the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B), who are opposing the joint entrance exam (JEE) reforms, have received a draft document from the human resources development (HRD) ministry before the seven-member panel meets them on Monday.

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The draft contains the basic contours of the changes in the JEE, including dates for the exam (April 7, 2013) and the modalities of sub-committees that will be in charge. Faculty members at IITs, however, are not ready to budge and will place their objections before the committee.

When the committee held a meeting with IIT-Kanpur faculty members on Thursday, upset professors staged a walkout barely before it had begun. “Most people wanted to postpone the meeting as we did not have enough time to study the document,” said an IIT-K professor. “When the committee suggested we have an informal meeting everyone just walked out.”

“Faculty members have been voicing concerns over the reforms, and that they have not been consulted. The meetings were organised to tell them what is happening and to assuage their fears,” said an IIT director.