New Delhi: Students aspiring to appear in All India Engineering Entrance Exam (AIEEE) may get an added option of writing the test on-line from 2011.
The test is conducted by CBSE for admission into National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and other engineering institutes.
The NIT Council, the apex body for taking a decision on the issues of NITs, today set up a committee to explore the possibility of holding the test on-line in addition to the regular pen and paper system.
The meeting, chaired by HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, felt that on-line test will reduce the mounting logistic pressure on the Board in holding the test. At present, over 10 lakh
students are appearing in the AIEEE every year.
The Committee consisting of the Directors of NITs of Allahabad, Calicut and Agartala will submit its report by January next year, the HRD Ministry said.
The committee will also look into the structure of the entrance exam and consider if weightage could be given to class XII Exam results for selection of students in the merit
list. At present, merit list is prepared on the basis of performance of students in the entrance.
Similar procedure is also being explored for the IIT Joint Entrance Examination. The idea behind giving more weightage to Class-XII results is aimed at shifting the students` orientation to study of school subjects than going to coaching centres for training for the entrance.
The directors of NITs felt that the training provided by the coaching institutes was skewing the pattern of entrants into the NITs.
The Committee will also look at the problem of seats remaining vacant in the NITs despite rounds of counselling.
There are certain courses which fail to attract more students.
The committee could recommend alternate courses, the ministry
said.
A separate committee was also constituted to review the curriculum and suggest if changes are required. The committee, consisting of the directors of NITs of Thrichy,
Surathkal and Warrangal, will examine needs of the country, industry and the market and also design the curriculum looking at future needs of the country.
It will also interact with industry bodies to know their requirements so that the students have the best possible job prospects.
The 20 NITs will prepare their vision document outlining the roadmap for expansion with quality. The vision plan will state how they could build their brand image to attract talent from within the country and abroad.
The vision plan will also include whether the institutes are interested to set up campuses abroad.
The Council approved the NITs` request that in exceptional cases, individuals can be hired at a higher grade pay with the approval of the Board of Governors of the NITs.
Norms will have to be formulated by the NITs when such exceptions can be made, the ministry said.
Besides, the government will implement a Performance Related Incentive System to promote excellence in the institutions, including the NITs.
Sibal asked the NITs to give more emphasis on research work, both doctoral and post-doctoral.
He also told Council members that there will be enormous requirement for professional courses and graduate programmes in view of the high growth in the country and the
growing middle class.
There will be a standing committee to go into the details of various proposals of the NITs.
All the NITs would be provided with one Gbps of connectivity shortly. The NIT Council would be held every six months from now.
Bureau Report
