A ruckus in the land of IIT- Kanpur

June 10, 2012 | Filed under: Education,Your Opinion | Posted by: Nidhi Kapoor

IIT Kharagpur rejects new format, backs IIT Kanpur

Rejecting Human Resource and Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal’s decision to conduct a Common Entrance Test for undergraduate engineering courses, Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur has decided to hold a separate entrance test from 2013.

The firm resolution was passed at a meeting of a 200-member Senate which abased the proposal considering it to be “academically and methodically unsound and in violation of the Institutes of Technology Act (1961) and the IIT-Kanpur Ordinances (Ordinance 3.2 (Admissions)).”

The HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, on May 28, enunciated the government’s decision to conduct a Common Entrance Test for admissions to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), International Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs), thereby affirming that the new pattern, which would be effective from 2013, would override IIT-JEE and AIEEE. His proposal emphatically reflected upon the aspirants’ performance in XII board as the results of the very board would also be taken into account. Mr. Sibal also claimed that the decision was advocated by the Senates of five of the seven IITs.

Standing on a firm ground of conviction that the new test pattern would dilute the essence of the very institute, IIT Kanpur has decided to reject Sibal’s proposal. IIT- Delhi is also likely to follow the path paved by IIT-Kanpur. The All India IIT Faculty Federation has said that IIT Kanpur will coordinate with other institutes who have decided to go with IIT-K’s decision.

A statement by the IIT Faculty Federation strongly suggests that five of the seven IIT Senates had decided that there would be no change for the year 2013. This clearly indicates that the proposal announced by the HRD Minister is in violation of the view of a majority of Senates.

As a result, the IIT Delhi Alumni Association has threatened to move the court against the Common Entrance Test. Several aspiring candidates have already voiced their disapproval for the new CET format citing the forthcoming rules as unfair and a cause for confusion.