New Delhi: Odisha, West Bengal and Goa are some of the additional states which agreed to adopt the central Joint Entrance Exam (JEE), giving a boost to the Centre`s efforts to make all technical institutes in the country adopt it.
While Gujarat has agreed to adopt it from next year, Odisha and Goa will adopt it from 2014 and West Bengal from 2015 onwards, said HRD Minister Kapil Sibal.
Haryana, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra had earlier agreed to adopt it.
JEE for admission to undergraduate engineering programmes for all technical institutes will start next year. IITs, NITs and some other central institutes have already decided to adopt it, under which weightage will be given to board exams.
Sibal, who held a meeting with about six deemed universities here today impressing them on the need to adopt the test, told reporters that 29 such universities have given their approval to the common test.
He said of the six universities present today, two have decided to adopt it.
However, Ministry officials said BITS, Pilani, is opposing the format while a few others have sought more time to study it.
PTI
