Common engineering entrance test put on hold
The much-touted move to conduct a single entrance test for engineering courses across the country has been seemingly put on hold by the Human Resource Development ministry after a few states raised objection regarding the examination.
Sources stated that the move is being opposed by the West Bengal and Tamil Nadu governments,
The move has been opposed by the West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, forcing the HRD ministry to backtrack on issue
forcing the HRD ministry to backtrack on the issue.
The Country’s technical education regulator, All India Council of Technical Education, had announced in March that a national-level common entrance examination for engineering colleges would be conducted from the next academic year in 2018.
“It is important to have consensus on the introduction of a common exam. So the plan has been put on hold for now. The common counselling provisions also need to be discussed with the states,” sources stated.
Sources added the West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee sent a letter to Human Resource Development minister Prakash Javadekar, opposing the Centre’s move. He requested the minister to dismiss the proposal.
“The West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination Board — the nodal body conducting the JEE engineering tests in the state — is an established agency set up by us. There have been no problems in conducting the engineering exams. Then why does the Centre want to discontinue this existing system?” the West Bengal minister asked in his letter.
Taking the example of the National Eligibilitycum-Entrance Test (NEET) for medical and dental colleges introduced last year, the government had initiated the move for a common test for admission to engineering courses.
The Central Board of Secondary Education conducts the Joint Entrance Examination (Mains) for admission to engineering courses. Over 11 lakh students appear for the exam every year.
A number of states conduct their own tests, while some colleges grant admission based on marks. Several private colleges also have their own entrance examinations.
There are more than 3,300 approved engineering colleges in the country affiliated to universities, with an annual enrolment of around 16 lakh students.