Calling for more “weightage” for Class XII Board exams towards the Joint Entrance Examination for admission to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said here today that the required minimum of 60 per cent marks for JEE eligibility could be raised to at least 80 per cent.
After a meeting of the IIT Council, the apex decision-making body for the institutes, here, Sibal said there was a need to ensure that IIT applicants give as much importance to their school examination as they did to the JEE and check the mushrooming JEE coaching industry.
When asked if this meant raising the cut-off from the present 60 per cent, Sibal said: “The present cut-off of 60 per cent is not enough. The minimum marks required for IIT JEE could be raised to 80 or 85 per cent. However, it is up to the IITs to decide.” He added that the IITs could also consider using percentiles to reduce the influence of multiple examination boards.
An IIT committee is already examining the issue of JEE reforms and some kind of blueprint is expected in January 2010.
IIT Directors said that an increased Class XII weightage besides other JEE reforms will roll out in full in 2011— a reform target set by the HRD ministry. While raising the cut off from 60 to 80 per cent is one formula being looked at, the IIT internal committee is also considering other ways to ensure that Class XII scores have some weightage in deciding a student’s final JEE score.
The first IIT Council meeting held under the new HRD Minister Kapil Sibal also had the ministry proposing a collegium system for appointments of IIT Boards and Chairmen next year on — just as has been proposed for IIMs last week.
In keeping with his earlier statements on IITs expanding their horizons, Sibal set up five-member committee under the chairmanship of Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar to look at making IIT a “truly global brand,” with increased emphasis on research.
“It is research that creates wealth,” he said while adding that the committee would also look at attracting more national projects as well as tapping the private sector market.
The Kakodkar committee, which is to submit its report in six months, will also look into ways to attract quality faculty and suggest ways of collaborating with the private sector in emerging sectors like biotechnology and IT. The committee will also work towards a 2020 vision document for IITs along with the internal committee of the IIT.
The HRD minister also announced his intent to relax the norms in the Foreign Currency Regulation Act to let foreign institutes invest in IITs easily instead of waiting three years as the current laws require them to.
The IIT Council also today put to rest the controversy surrounding the IIT faculty pay issue, ratifying the pay scale hike for faculty as well as the minister’s recent assurance to the latter on making exceptions from stipulated norms for deserving faculty members.
An IIT Director said that a Performance Related Incentive Scheme (PRIS) as promised to the faculty is also underway.
Another committee, comprising three members, has been formed to look into the IIT curriculum and give its report within three months. It has Science and Technology Secretary T. Ramaswami; Secretary, Department of Biotechnology M K Bhan; CSIR Director General Sameer K. Brahmachari as members; and will collaborate with people from multiple disciplines to formulate an up-to-date curriculum.
Sibal also announced the release of withheld non-plan grants, linking them with the number of students in a particular institute. More students in an institute would now mean more grants.
In a move to ensure that the IIT Council remains an active and vibrant set-up, it was also decided at today’s meet that the IIT Council would now meet every six months. It had last met in 2008 with Sibal’s predecessor Arjun Singh having convened the IIT Council just once through his term, in 2003.
Source: Indian Express
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