HYDERABAD: The announcement of a common entrance test for the National Institute of Technology (NIT) and Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) has had students worried and junior colleges fuming. The IIT-Hyderabad, however, has welcomed the move.The system gives the added advantage of screening students through the advanced paper, hence there is no question of dilution. The Joint Admissions Board (JAB) of the IITs will decide on the cut-off for main paper.The main paper will shortlist five times the number of candidates to appear for the advanced round of examinations,” said Dr UB Desai, director of IIT, Hyderabad.The increase in the number of seats offered by the new IITs might allow close to 10,000 ranks being awarded which means close to 50,000 students would be allowed to sit for the IIT.But in a state, which prides itself on providing droves of potential engineers to the premier institutes, the measure has been dubbed as ‘too much and too soon’ to cope with. “We are already in intermediate second year now and one year has been wasted preparing for the IIT-JEE format.How do you switch to ISEET all of a sudden? Also, now we have to prepare for intermediate exams as well which is an added pressure,” says P Abhay, a student of intermediate second year in the city who will appear for the common entrance in 2013.Not only students, but also corporate colleges are facing the heat as the announcement came as a spin to the set methods of teaching.“The announcement should have come two years before they proposed to implement it.For students who will join intermediate first year now, it is no big deal but for those in final year, half the journey has been completed.Further, given the pattern of the examination, not every student can get a shot at IIT,” says Vijay Kumar, principal of Narayana Junior College in Mehdipatnam.The format which gives 50 per cent weightage to marks obtained in 12th standard board examination and 50 per cent to the performance in main paper will reserve the ranks based on the performance of the students in the advanced JEE paper.Effectively, only those students who manage the given cut-off in the main paper can attempt the advanced paper for the IITs.“If this is the case then how can everyone take a shot at the IITs? It becomes a hurdle for those who have been preparing for AIEEE and EAMCET but would like to sit for the IIT-JEE,” says Vijay Kumar.The director of IIT Hyderabad however has a different take.“Most of the time students do not pay enough attention to board examinations preparing for the competitives. This should not be the case. Also, the disturbing trend of crammi9ng from 8th standard and earlier is not healthy.Two years of preparation during plus-two is enough to see the students through.The fact that new IITs have come up and seats have increased should allay the fear of the students. Now more students will be a part of the institute,” says Dr. U.B Desai.The said pattern will change by 2015 following which the entrance to IITs will be through the main paper as well.Though clear guidelines will be issued only by July/August as to the pattern of the examination, the corporate colleges are on a roll already conducting ISEET classes for the next round of number cards.
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