First one nation one exam JEE Main will be conducted in April 2013

Updated on: Saturday, December 15, 2012

12.8 lakh students have applied to take the Joint Entrance Exam (Main), in the first year of India's big step towards the 'one nation, one exam' system, which will be conducted in April 2013. A combination of scores from this exam and the Class XII marks will determine admission to engineering colleges. After that, the top 1.5 lakh candidates will be eligible to take the JEE (Advanced) to join the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is conducting the JEE (Main) in two modes-paper-pen and computer-based tests. The CBSE has received a total of 12.82 lakh applications from across India, of which 11.65 lakh were submitted with the testing fee. Of these, a mere 1.74 lakh applications were received for taking the JEE (Main) on computer; 1.53 lakh of these forms were accompanied by the testing fee.

The registration window to take the JEE (Main) closes on Saturday (December 15). CBSE chairman Vineet Joshi said, "The syllabus has not changed, so the JEE (Main) will be similar to the AIEEE (All India Engineering Entrance Exam) in terms of difficulty."

Apart from the IITs, National Institutes of Technology, the Delhi Technological University and other centrally funded technical institutes (CFTIs), all colleges in Gujarat and Nagaland-the only two states to join the JEE (Main) this year -will screen students based on their marks in the JEE (Main). Only 1.5 lakh of the top rankers in the JEE (Main) will be eligible to appear in the JEE (Advanced) 2013.

By next year, most other states are likely to be a part of the JEE (Main) club. In the college education sector, engineering's share has been growing -- close to three of every 10 high school graduates aspire to be an engineer. Over time, engineering has come to become a popular base degree, the first collegiate course that most students are opting for, following which many go on to do a higher programme.

S S Mantha, chairman of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), said engineering as the first degree has gained popularity because it increases the employability potential of a graduate. "Any aspiring parent or student weighs a programme against the ability to get a job immediately after graduation. With an engineering degree, a student has a higher job potential," he added.

Former IIT-Madras director P V Indiresan said India does not need so many engineers and the higher education sector needs a correction. "India is producing more than 10 times the number of engineers it needs. I don't know what kind of jobs these students will get after they pass out."

India is home to 24 engineering entrance exams; most students take multiple exams. Of them, the AIEEE was taken by the largest pool of candidates-11.87 lakh-last year, followed by IIT-JEE, which was taken by 5.6 lakh aspirants.

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