There have been talks on doing away with the B.Tech programmes at the IITs. Instead of the 8 semesters long B.Tech courses, there are chances that the first year will be for providing IIT experience and thereafter there will be admissions in the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th semesters of the B.Tech programme (i.e. for the third and fourth year). Now, this IIT experience might come at a worth of Rs. 2 lakhs. Which means, to enroll in the year-long IIT experience candidates have to pay a sum of Rs. 2 lakh. However, there will be special scholarships available for the reserved categories.
The proposal which will be put into the table of the IIT Council meeting on August 21, 2018, contains the idea of doing away with the IIT flagship programme i.e. B.Tech and converting the institutes into high-end institutes that offer post-graduate education and only certain semesters of teaching to nearly 80,000 students a year instead of the current 10,000 plus.
Some other aspects of the proposals suggest that admission to this semester-long experience into IITs will be for the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th semesters of the B.Tech programme (i.e. for the third and fourth year) and will be based on the performance in an examination based on NPTEL (National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning).
Students who will enroll in this IIT experience will get degrees issued by their universities which will mention the IIT semester experience. In addition to that, these students will also get preference during the PG admissions in the IITs, given that they fulfill the eligibility norms.
The amount, which has been disclosed as per some newspaper reports, that the candidates need to pay to enroll in this year-long IIT experience is Rs. 2 Lakhs and will come with the facilities like bank loans without collateral. Also, there will be special scholarships available for the reserved category candidates.
There are various proposals that are to be discussed at the IIT council meeting. One of them suggests scrapping of the JEE Advanced examination for IIT admission. Instead of holding 2 exams for admission JEE Main and then JEE Advanced, there are suggestions to make JEE Main the only criteria for admission at the IITs. The top bucket of the JEE Main qualified candidates will be able to take admission at the IITs without any further round of interviews or tests. Also, the rankings in JEE Main to be abolished to keep up the morale among the students.
All the above proposals are mere ideas at this stage. IIT council which is the top decision-making body for the IITs will discuss these ideas in detail in the upcoming meeting. Thereafter ant comments will be made officially. Right now there are no comments as per the newspaper reports on the feasibility of these ideas, however, ideas are up for discussion.
2019, clearly is the year of changes for the higher education in India. Now, if the decision on taking down JEE Advanced and B.Tech courses at the IITs turn out to be a “yes”, then a huge change in engineering education might be on the way in the coming future.
Do find the proposal of IIT experience and taking down B.Tech programme from the IITs promising? Or do you think there can be a better structure? Do let us know your views on this in the comment section below.
