NEET success will decide engg exam
NEW DELHI: The HRD ministry is likely to take a decision on conducting a single entrance test for engineering courses across the country soon.
According to sources, the ministry on Monday held a meeting with health ministry officials to discuss the experience of NEET and whether it has reduced corruption and led to promotion of merit in awarding seats.
According to a senior HRD official, they were informed health ministry officials that the single entrance exam has ensured that every student getting into medical education maintains at least a minimum academic standard. Only candidates in the top 50 percentile of the NEET exam are eligible to apply for admission in medical colleges. Besides this, seat allocation for the management quota is now being done through a state level counselling process. “This ensures merit is maintained and not anyone can simply buy seats. At the same time there are benefits for students as they only have to take a single test, they don’t have to spend on entrance fee and don’t need to travel unnecessarily to different parts of the country for taking the test,” said an official.
The ministry will now deliberate on the issue on whether to hold a similar entrance test from next year, which will replace all the engineering exams that are conducted. The All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), the regulator for technical education in the country, had cleared a proposal for such an exam in 2018. However, the move was opposed by West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
So far, the Central Board of Secondary Education conducts the Joint Entrance Examination Mains for admission to engineering courses. IITs conduct the IIT Advanced for admission to Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) across the country. A number of states conduct their own tests, while some colleges grant admission based on class 12 marks. Private colleges also have their own entrance examinations
There are over 3,300 approved engineering colleges in the country, with an annual enrolment of around 16 lakh students.