Two step common entrance examination for IIT admissions from 2013

Admissions to all centrally-fundedengineering institutions, including the Indian Institutes of Technology, National Institutes of Technology, will have to take place through a two-step common entrance examination from 2013. For the first time Class XII board results will be taken into consideration for admissions. 

This decision was taken at a joint meeting the IIT Council, NIT Council and IIIT Council on Monday. Human resource development minister Kapil Sibalwas able to forge this consensus only after conceding to the demand by the IITs that they would have a different formulation for selecting students. 
Even though all engineering aspirants would have to appear for the two-step Joint Entrance Examination (main and advanced) for selecting students and class XII board examination results will count for admissions, the manner in which these scores will be used is different for the IITs and all other Centrally Funded Institutes. Even as Sibal emphasized that there was no "dissent" among the Councils about the move to a common examination system, the minister acknowledged that "resistance from the IITs" was the main reason for not having a uniform system of admissions. 

The IIT Senates and faculty federations had opposed the idea of using one set formula for all engineering schools. "There was a lot of resistance from the IIT system. In the end I have accepted their point of view, one that I don't understand," Sibal said. 

In order to ensure that IITs participated in the "one nation, one test" formula, the ministry accepted two core demands-first, the IIT merit list would not include class XII results and it would be based on a system set up by the IITs and second, academic control would remain with the IIT system. The IITs will give equal weightage, 50% each, to class XII board and the JEE (main) results. This will be used to filter roughly 50,000 students, corresponding roughly with the top 20-30 % of students who appear for the entrance examination. 

The performance of only these shortlisted students in the JEE (advanced) will be considered. The final merit list for admission to the IITs will be prepared based on performance in the JEE (advanced) exam. For all other Centrally Funded Institutions, admissions would be based on a combined score which gives a weightage of 40% to class XII board results, and 30% each for the JEE (main) and JEE (advanced). 

Even as the process of selection to the IITs would be different then other institutes, he said the counselling to IITs and other institutes will be done jointly and allotment of seats will be done together. "I as a student will get a rank in IIT and also get a rank for NIT and IIIT. I will give my choice in both and depending on which is my first choice in either, I will get a seat," Sibal explained.