BANGALORE: With the death of Higher Education Minister V S Acharya, the State government seems to be on the fence about taking a stand on whether Karnataka would accept or oppose the proposed common national level entrance test that will replace Indian Institute of Technology - Joint Entrance Examination (IIT-JEE) and All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE) from 2013.
The Indian Science Engineering Eligibility Test (ISEET) would be conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for entry into the 15 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), 30 National Institutes of Technology (NITs), four Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs), five Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) and few deemed universities which come under the purview of the HRD Ministry.
Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Puducherry opposed the proposal, while Delhi, Chandigarh and nine other states have accepted the proposed test.“We have not taken a formal stand on this because of the demise of the minister.
I will approach the chief minister with the implications of the ISEET and a stand will be taken soon,” H Siddaiah, Principal Secretary of Higher Education told Express.
Sources told Express that the state government may reject the ISEET as the late minister was against the idea.
“When the initial proposal reached Acharya, he was against it as it would take away the autonomy of the state in conducting its own entrance exams.
That is why he sought more time to comply with the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for MBBS,” sources said.
WHAT IS ISEET?
According to recommendations of the committee headed by Dr T Ramasami, Secretary in the Department of Science and Technology, the ISEET 2013 will be conducted in two parts - Main and Advance - in April or May next year.
One section is expected to be based on questions from Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics of Class XI and XII level, while the other would be aptitude based.
Performance in the Class 12 board exam will be considered, with weightage of at least 40 per cent.
The combined weightage for ISEET Main and Advance scores will be a maximum of 60 per cent.
However, the weight-age given to board scores can go up to 100 per cent.