HYDERABAD: The proposal of the Union ministry of human resource development (MHRD) for a single entrance test for admission to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs) has been welcomed by educational experts in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
With a view to reducing the stress on students, a committee constituted by the MHRD has recently proposed that a single common entrance test be held for IITs and NITs. The committee has also recommended several other changes in the existing entrance examination process of IITs.
Though MHRD is yet to decide on implementing the recommendations, the move received a positive response from academic experts. Ramakrishna Rao, a former IIT professor from Hyderabad, said, “High pressure on students to clear the IIT entrance exam will not allow them to focus on their academics. Their learning is severely affected due to this competition for securing better ranks in the entrance tests. Since IITs and NITs are the most preferred institutes, they must have a single entrance test.”
There is also criticism of the selection process at IITs. Academicians and industry experts had said several times in the past that students of these prestigious institutes had been heavily tutored at the school level. The proposal of the MHRD committee to revise the entrance examination pattern intends to give equal opportunity to students of different backgrounds so that coaching will not be the deciding factor in clearing the test.
Another recommendation by the committee to reduce the time taken for admission process has also been welcomed by academicians. Currently, there is a gap of almost three months between the mains exam and the deceleration of results. Raja Rao, a faculty member of a Hyderabad-based engineering college, said, “Those who get seats in local colleges or NITs are cancelling their admission after they secure seats in any of the IITs.”