The Indian Science and Engineering Eligibility Test (ISEET) was proposed by the HRD ministry and the State Education ministers on Wednesday in the Delhi Majority of the states, including Maharashtra, have agreed 'in principle' to use the test scores from next year.
To be administered by the CBSE, the Indian Science and Engineering Eligibility Test (ISEET) will be applicable to all the engineering institutes in central, which includes the premier IITs and NITs. These institutes, along with those of the states, will use ISEET scores which will be held in either April or May next year. There are concerns, however, over the quality of examination since the elite IIT exam will be merged with AIEEE and will also be a gateway to many state level colleges.
Nisha Kothari, who owns a coaching centre in Nagpur, said, "Quality of the exam will surely go down due to the proposed ISEET, as the focus shifts on quantity of students. Teaching quality will also take a hit as any entrepreneur in the market will think of starting a coaching centre and students will suffer. The government is thinking of including XII standard marks in the overall weightage, but there are very few good teachers in junior colleges now." For admissions, all institutes will be considering XII standard marks along with those of the ISEET.
Another institute head Abhishek Bansal said, "My concern is the equivalency of the Std XII exams in the country. Every state has a different syllabus and probably a different standard of education. There has to be a standardization of curriculum across the country first and then this exam would be fair. Overall I am all for the ISEET as it is a good idea." Rajnikant Bondre, an IIT coaching institute owner, said, "Quality will not be affected too much and at the same time I feel the ISEET will give a chance to everyone."
A high-ranking official with the state education department said that quality of the exam will be retained through paper division. There will be two papers, Main and Advance, which will test separate skills. "The Main exam will test the thinking capability of the student while the Advance paper will be set and assessed by the IIT staff. So the level of toughness will be maintained in the new system as well," the official said.
While giving admissions under the new scheme, the marks weightage criteria is likely to be different for every institute. "The IITs may give 50% weightage to the Advance paper and divide the other 50% between Std XII and Main paper marks. State colleges however could give 40% weightage to Std XII marks, 40% to Main and remaining to Advance. The final distribution will be decided later on by the stakeholders concerned," the official added.
It is expected that a formal declaration of the exam with final details will be made by May this year.
NAGPUR: Even as Nagpur University has decided to implement the much-awaited Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS) from next academic session in postgraduate courses, NU officials say it would be a tough exercise.
They said it would tough given the massive shortage of regular teachers and principals in NU departments and affiliated colleges. A majority of over 800 affiliated colleges were without full-time heads. Shortage of teachers was acute in professional faculties. Without full-time teachers, evaluation of student's answersheets was not possible. Moreover, most NU colleges were also lacking infrastructure and facilities.
Even state minister for higher and technical education Rajesh Tope, during a meeting with Board of College and University Development (BCUD) directors of all state universities, had acknowledged the difficulty in implementing the system in the absence of regular teachers.
Officials revealed that another problem would be of shortage of employees in NU's exam section which is battling all kinds of problems. The section is running without full-time Controller of examinations (CoE) would now have to conduct the massive exercise of holding examination for faculties like MA, MCom, MSc twice a year instead of once.
The number of students in these far exceeds those in professional faculties like management and engineering. NU has failed to appoint people in exam section since last couple of years even as many employees retired. At present, CBCS is implemented in newly-opened Genetic Engineering and Molecular Biology Department where there are only 20 admissions.
The officials expressed concern over failure of NU in implementing semester system in first year undergraduate engineering. NU is only university in state not implementing it. Board of Studies (BoS) has now decided to start it from next academic year. The CBCS system is followed globally for its range of benefits and many top-ranked institutions admit students on the basis of these grades. Even UGC, Union HRD ministry, and National Knowledge Commission (NKC) have recommended the system for enhancing the quality of higher education.
BENEFITS:
* It is followed in top world universities and also IITs, IISCs
* Students can choose subjects' of their choice, within certain restrictions
* Papers divided into core and elective groups
* Ensures interdisciplinary teaching and learning across all faculties
* Different courses are assigned weightages called credits
CHALLENGES:
* Shortage of regular teachers, principals/directors and infrastructure
* Without full-time teachers evaluation is not possible
* Vacancies in exam section would make it difficult to conduct exam twice a year
* Turning to semester system in UG courses will be tough
How the system works?
CBCS has several unique features. They are enhanced learning opportunities, ability to match students' scholastic needs and aspirations, inter-institution transferability of students (following completion of a semester), and part-completion of an academic programme in institution of enrolment and part-completion in a specialized (and recognized) institution.
It also leads to improvement in educational quality and excellence, flexibility for working students to complete the programme over an extended period of time, standardization and comparability of educational programmes across the country.
A large number of universities and institutions in India are already having their undergraduate and postgraduate 'papers' subdivided into units and subunits. In switching to CBCS, the task of such institutions would be relatively easy.
In a generalized manner, the sequence of CBCS would be: I) Paper II) Unit III) Sub-unit IV) Credits
What colleges need to do
* Review curricular contents (study papers, term papers, assignment, workshop-assignment, and experiments) of certificate, diploma, undergraduate, postgraduate, MPhil and PhD programmes
* For the sake of clarity of faculty, students and examiners, all the curricular contents should be specified, and subdivided into units and subunits, which are subsequently assigned numerical values and termed 'credits'
* Faculty of the concerned department should deliberate and decide on (a) core-credits, and (b) elective or optional credits for different levels of academic programmes
* Departmental faculty should evaluate and decide on the relative weightage of the core and elective credits
* Decision on the 'total' credits to be earned by students undergoing certificate, diploma, undergraduate, postgraduate, MPhil or PhD programmes
IBN Live
HYDERABAD: The IIT-JEE and AIEEE aspirants in the state, who usually spend more time preparing to crack the tests than concentrate on their intermediate studies are now reversing their priority as the new Iseet will give 40 per cent weightage to the Inter marks.
With the central government making the Indian Science Engineering Eligibility Test (Iseet) a must to secure seats in the prestigious IITs and NITs from 2013 onwards, students have begun concentrating on their 10+2 syllabus.
Earlier the trend was to sacrifice the studies in schools for coaching classes.
A junior college teacher S Shankar told Express that till now the students were preparing only for the entrance test as their Inter scores had no bearing on their ranks in IIT-JEE and AIEEE.
Besides, there is also the possibility that the state too does away with Eamcet next year itself, he said, adding that the students are concerned about getting caught off guard by such a decision.
Students also admitted to changing their approach to competitive exams from now itself.
K Sangeetha, an intermediate student, said that following the Iseet announcement, all her first year MPC students were now concentrating on the classes and work in the college.
With the central government making the Indian Science Engineering Eligibility Test (Iseet) a must to secure seats in the prestigious IITs and NITs from 2013 onwards, students have begun concentrating on their 10+2 syllabus.
Earlier the trend was to sacrifice the studies in schools for coaching classes.
A junior college teacher S Shankar told Express that till now the students were preparing only for the entrance test as their Inter scores had no bearing on their ranks in IIT-JEE and AIEEE.
Besides, there is also the possibility that the state too does away with Eamcet next year itself, he said, adding that the students are concerned about getting caught off guard by such a decision.
Students also admitted to changing their approach to competitive exams from now itself.
K Sangeetha, an intermediate student, said that following the Iseet announcement, all her first year MPC students were now concentrating on the classes and work in the college.
HYDERABAD: With the Union HRD ministry making it optional for the states to introduce Iseet in place of their respective common entrance tests for admission to engineering colleges, the AP government will take a decision on doing away with Eamcet once it gets the modalities of the national engineering entrance test from the Centre.
During the state education ministers' meet in New Delhi on Wednesday, the HRD ministry decided to go ahead by introducing Iseet from 2013 replacing IIT-JEE and AIEEE.
Though all states have been advised to follow Iseet, they would not be forced to cancel their respective engineering tests.
However, the IITs, NITs, IIITs and all central-funded institutions have to mandatorily take the score into consideration for admissions from 2013.
The HRD officials said the move was intended to reduce the stress on students.
According to them, there are about 150 engineering tests in the country.
Principal secretary to Higher Education MG Gopal, who accompanied higher education minister and deputy chief minister Damodara Rajanarisimha to the education ministers' meet, told Express that the HRD ministry also gave an option to the states to increase the weightage to 10+2 marks up to 100 per cent, from a minimum of 40 per cent
Out Look
Education Ministers to Discuss Single Entrance Test
Education Ministers of states will meet here tomorrow to decide on the Centre's move to hold a single entrance test for admissions to under graduate science and engineering programmes across the country.
HRD Minister Kapil Sibal says 11 education boards in the country have unanimously supported the move and the government now intends to seek the views of other boards in this regard. "The states have to come onboard now. We are going to have a meeting of the CABE committee, state education ministers...All these will be put before the CABE committee. We want to have a firm resolution at that level before we actually hold the exam," he told PTI. "We are attempting to do that. I can tell you for example there was a meeting of Council of Boards of School Education in India (COBSE) yesterday. 11 boards came for this meeting of COBSE and all 11 boards unanimously supported this," he said. He was responding to a question whether the single entrance test would come into force by 2013 as planned. Sibal said the government intends to write to other boards in the country asking them to give their views and explain whether they have any problem with regard to conduct of the single test. The proposed entrance test, Indian Science - Engineering Eligibility Test (ISEET), is likely to be conducted in April or May next year and will have two parts -- ISEET main and ISEET advance. He said the main issue of bringing about equalisation of the Class XII marks across the boards has been sorted out by a formula designed by the Indian Statistical Institute that would give "more representation" to states in the IIT system. Sibal's comments comes ahead of his crucial meeting with State Education Ministers here tomorrow during which the issue would be discussed thread-bare. Sibal said he did not want to convey any misgivings especially on the issue of equalising various results of the state board exams. The formula that has been derived by Indian Statistical Institute has taken into account the results of the last five years and have come out with specific figures. "We are willing to make a presentation. COBSE is fully agreeable," he said. When pointed out that some southern states are not agreeable to the test, he said: "Who are saying they are averse? At the CABE committee there was unanimity. People have to be persuaded how the equalisation is taking place. In fact, this would give more representation to states in the IIT system." | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Common Test Will Maintain IIT Brand: Sibal
HRD Minister Kapil Sibal today said the proposed common test for admission to undergraduate engineering programmes in institutions like IITs will give "better representation of excellence" even as a section of IIT Delhi students objected to the move.
While Sibal said the new system will continue to maintain the IIT brand, the students contended the proposal will not be beneficial for the IITs.
They said the system will further burden students and not help in checking coaching institutes.
"Under the new system, 40 per cent weightage will be given to school board marks, but it will close all doors for a student who fail to score well in the board. Besides, the system will will lead to more irregularities in the board exams," the students told reporters here.
They lamented being stopped from making representation to the minister.
As per the new system, a common merit list will be prepared based on 60 per cent weightage to the common test and not less than 40 per cent to Class XII examination after normalising scores of the state boards.
While the state education ministers meet has given in principal approval to the proposal, Tamil Nadu has rejected the plan Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Puducherry and West Bengal sought more time to study the proposal in details.
Sibal said the IITs will have to play a more proactive role in the coming years as it is confronted with new challenges and look for better opportunities.
Noting that IIT directors will have to be more responsive to the challenges and lead from the front, Sibal said a new process for their appointment would be initiated.
"Now we are going to start a new process of appointment. When we are going to appoint new IIT directors, we want them to submit a written plan to us as to what they want to do with the institution during their tenure.
"We will hold them to that plan, we will assess their contribution in realising that vision of theirs during the time as director," he said.
Sibal inaugurated an innovation centre on the campus, which has been set up at a cost of Rs 50 lakh, thanks to a group of 40 alumni of 1986 batch.
While Sibal said the new system will continue to maintain the IIT brand, the students contended the proposal will not be beneficial for the IITs.
They said the system will further burden students and not help in checking coaching institutes.
"Under the new system, 40 per cent weightage will be given to school board marks, but it will close all doors for a student who fail to score well in the board. Besides, the system will will lead to more irregularities in the board exams," the students told reporters here.
They lamented being stopped from making representation to the minister.
As per the new system, a common merit list will be prepared based on 60 per cent weightage to the common test and not less than 40 per cent to Class XII examination after normalising scores of the state boards.
While the state education ministers meet has given in principal approval to the proposal, Tamil Nadu has rejected the plan Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Puducherry and West Bengal sought more time to study the proposal in details.
Sibal said the IITs will have to play a more proactive role in the coming years as it is confronted with new challenges and look for better opportunities.
Noting that IIT directors will have to be more responsive to the challenges and lead from the front, Sibal said a new process for their appointment would be initiated.
"Now we are going to start a new process of appointment. When we are going to appoint new IIT directors, we want them to submit a written plan to us as to what they want to do with the institution during their tenure.
"We will hold them to that plan, we will assess their contribution in realising that vision of theirs during the time as director," he said.
Sibal inaugurated an innovation centre on the campus, which has been set up at a cost of Rs 50 lakh, thanks to a group of 40 alumni of 1986 batch.
ISEET Quotes
The IITs may give 50% weightage to the Advance paper and divide the other 50% between Std XII and Main paper marks. State colleges however could give 40% weightage to Std XII marks, 40% to Main and remaining to Advance. The final distribution will be decided later on by the stakeholders concerned.SOURCE: TIMES OF INDIA 2012-02-23 21:07:00
The Main exam will test the thinking capability of the student while the Advance paper will be set and assessed by the IIT staff. So the level of toughness will be maintained in the new system as well.SOURCE: TIMES OF INDIA 2012-02-23 21:07:00
Quality will not be affected too much and at the same time I feel the ISEET will give a chance to everyone..SOURCE: TIMES OF INDIA 2012-02-23 21:07:00
My concern is the equivalency of the Std XII exams in the country. Every state has a different syllabus and probably a different standard of education. There has to be a standardization of curriculum across the country first and then this exam would be fair. Overall I am all for the ISEET as it is a good idea..SOURCE: TIMES OF INDIA 2012-02-23 21:07:00
Quality of the exam will surely go down due to the proposed ISEET, as the focus shifts on quantity of students. Teaching quality will also take a hit as any entrepreneur in the market will think of starting a coaching centre and students will suffer. The government is thinking of including Std XII marks in the overall weightage, but there are very few good teachers in junior colleges now..SOURCE: TIMES OF INDIA 2012-02-23 21:07:00
Let the Centre come up with some concrete rules for Common Entrance Test first-we would study it and then give our approval.SOURCE: DAILY PIONEER 2012-02-22 18:29:00
The success of these examinations would inspire the States to ultimately go for the CET.SOURCE: DAILY PIONEER 2012-02-22 18:29:00
Recognising the centrality of State Governments, I have been conducting regular consultations with them since 2009.SOURCE: DAILY PIONEER 2012-02-22 18:29:00
They are not averse. There was unanimity at the meeting of Central Advisory Board of Education committee and the States need to be persuaded and explained on the modus operandi of standardisation. In fact, this would give more representation to States in the IIT system.SOURCE: DAILY PIONEER 2012-02-21 18:48:00
The rest will be taken on board during the meeting.SOURCE: DAILY PIONEER 2012-02-21 18:48:00
We are willing to make a presentation. COBSE is fully agreeable.SOURCE: OUTLOOK INDIA 2012-02-21 05:44:00
We are attempting to do that. I can tell you for example there was a meeting of Council of Boards of School Education in India (COBSE) yesterday. 11 boards came for this meeting of COBSE and all 11 boards unanimously supported this.SOURCE: OUTLOOK INDIA 2012-02-21 05:44:00
The states have to come onboard now. We are going to have a meeting of the CABE committee, state education ministers...All these will be put before the CABE committee. We want to have a firm resolution at that level before we actually hold the exam.SOURCE: OUTLOOK INDIA 2012-02-21 05:44:00
Who are saying they are averse? At the CABE committee there was unanimity. People have to be persuaded how the equalisation is taking place. In fact, this would give more representation to states in the IIT system..SOURCE: ZEE NEWS 2012-02-21 05:44:00
We are willing to make a presentation. COBSE is fully agreeable.SOURCE: ZEE NEWS 2012-02-21 05:44:00
We are attempting to do that. I can tell you for example there was a meeting of Council of Boards of School Education in India (COBSE) yesterday. 11 boards came for this meeting of COBSE and all 11 boards unanimously supported this.SOURCE: ZEE NEWS 2012-02-21 05:44:00
The states have to come onboard now. We are going to have a meeting of the CABE committee, state education ministers...all these will be put before the CABE committee. We want to have a firm resolution at that level before we actually hold the exam.SOURCE: ZEE NEWS 2012-02-21 05:44:00
We are willing to make a presentation. COBSE is fully agreeable.SOURCE: DNA INDIA 2012-02-21 05:32:00
We are attempting to do that. I can tell you for example there was a meeting of Council of Boards of School Education in India (COBSE) yesterday. 11 boards came for this meeting of COBSE and all 11 boards unanimously supported this.SOURCE: DNA INDIA 2012-02-21 05:32:00
The states have to come onboard now. We are going to have a meeting of the CABE committee, state education ministers...all these will be put before the CABE committee. We want to have a firm resolution at that level before we actually hold the exam.SOURCE: DNA INDIA 2012-02-21 05:32:00
We are attempting to do that. I can tell you for example there was a meeting of Council of Boards of School Education in India (COBSE) yesterday. 11 boards came for this meeting of COBSE and all 11 boards unanimously supported this.SOURCE: MONEYCONTROL.COM 2012-02-21 05:26:00
The states have to come onboard now. We are going to have a meeting of the CABE committee, state education ministers...all these will be put before the CABE committee. We want to have a firm resolution at that level before we actually hold the exam.SOURCE: MONEYCONTROL.COM 2012-02-21 05:26:00
We are willing to make a presentation. COBSE is fully agreeable.SOURCE: SIFY 2012-02-21 05:12:00
We are attempting to do that. I can tell you for example there was a meeting of Council of Boards of School Education in India (COBSE) yesterday(Monday). 11 boards came for this meeting of COBSE and all 11 boards unanimously supported this.SOURCE: ASIAN AGE 2012-02-20 18:30:00
The states have to come onboard now. We are going to have a meeting of the CABE committee, state education ministers...all these will be put before the CABE committee. We want to have a firm resolution at that level before we actually hold the exam.SOURCE: ASIAN AGE 2012-02-20 18:30:00
If ISEET is introduced, a majority of the rural students will not get an opportunity to pursue higher education. Only coaching centres will flourish commercially.SOURCE: IBN LIVE 2012-02-16 05:26:00
If ISEET is introduced, a majority of the rural students will not get an opportunity to pursue higher education. Only coaching centres will flourish commercially.SOURCE: IBN LIVE 2012-02-16 05:26:00
Introduction of the ISEET will not curtail the autonomy of universities or institutions and the States to structure their own admission process. But, it provides for a standardised frame of reference for evaluation....SOURCE: IBN LIVE 2012-02-16 05:25:00
For admission into engineering courses, the students’ performance in the school board examination will also be taken into account which will not be less than 40 per cent of the scores in addition to their scores in the ISEET.SOURCE: IBN LIVE 2012-02-16 05:25:00
Introduction of the ISEET will not curtail the autonomy of universities or institutions and the States to structure their own admission process. But, it provides for a standardised frame of reference for evaluation....SOURCE: IBN LIVE 2012-02-16 05:25:00
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