Kerala reluctant to opt for common entrance test

Updated on: Saturday, June 16, 2012

Kerala has demonstrated its reluctance to opt for the all-India common entrance test for admission to engineering colleges that the Union human resources development minister, Kapil Sibal is so keen on introducing.

Education minister P.K. Abdu Rabb raised the state’s concerns on the issue during the two-day meeting convened by the HRD ministry with state education ministers at New Delhi earlier this month and asked for more time to arrive at a decision.

As Kerala is not the only state to have reservations on the test, the ministry has decided to restrict it to all Centrally funded engineering institutions like the IITs and IIITs in the first year.

The Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) will replace the old IIT-JEE and AIEEE from 2013. Mr Sibal has, for his part, suggested the states sitting on the fence could accept the common engineering entrance test in a modified version if they liked.

But sources in the education minister’s office say the final decision on whether to accept the JEE or not will be taken only after due deliberation.

“Education is in the concurrent list and the state has the freedom to become part of the common test or not,” they explain, adding, “The state government has not rejected the idea of a common entrance test, but is only unwilling to opt for it from 2013. It wants more time to consider the issue.”

While the state remains undecided, educationist R V.G. Menon, who headed the committee that came up with the reforms in the engineering entrance examinations adopted by the last LDF government, feels it has everything to gain from the JEE proposed by the Centre.

“The reforms introduced in the state already give weightage to the marks at the plus two level. The students will not need to write different examinations this way and will be able to seek admission to any college in the country.

Moreover, it will be easier for the government to insist on self -financing colleges admitting students through this single test,” he says While T.A. Vijayan, secretary, Kerala Self Financing Engineering College Managements Association (KSFECMA), personally supports the idea of a JEE at the national level, the association will take a decision on it at a meeting next week.

Convener of the CBSE-ICSE Parents’ Forum, Dr N.K. Sanil Kumar, however, feels there is a deliberate move to stay away from the all- India common test as it leaves no scope for manipulation of admission norms.

“This will go against the interests of some self- financing engineering colleges which lack
both infrastructure and qualified faculty,” he contends.

Reservations over common test

Besides Kerala, states like neighbouring Tamil Nadu too are not keen on the all-India common entrance test for engineering colleges proposed by the Centre.

While Tamil Nadu believes the test will go against the interest of students studying in the Tamil medium, the other point of concern is the proposal to hold both components of the test, the Mains and Advanced, the same day.

The human resources development ministry has also raked up a controversy by announcing its intention to give substantial weightage to plus two marks and introducing an aptitude test as part of the advanced test.

As giving weightage to the plus two marks will require students to perform well in the board examinations, those arguing in favour of the move say it will curb the growing tendency among students to skip regular classes and bring back focus in schooling.

However, normalising based on percentile could prove a serious challenge, as there is a huge difference in standards between the CBSE, ICSE and state board schools.

The other argument in favour of the all-India JEE is that it will free students from the multiple tests which are currently held for admission to various engineering courses, the most popular being the AIEEE and IIT- JEE. The stress of so many tests is not only academic, but also financial.

The proposed test will follow a 40:30:30 formula, with Class XII board results counting for 40 per cent, and the two stages of the entrance examinations counting for 30 per cent each.

Kerala reluctant to opt for common entrance test

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