People's Democracy

IIT JEE

SFI Protests Govt�s Admission Proposal

THROUGH a statement issued from New Delhi on October 21, the central executive committee (CEC) of the Students Federation of India (SFI) demanded that the union government must not go ahead with the proposal to raise the minimum marks required for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) from 60 to 80 per cent. As we know, admissions to the undergraduate study programmes at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are made through the Joint Entrance Examination. The SFI CEC is of the opinion that if this decision were implemented, it would certainly be harmful for the students from rural backgrounds and from the socio-economically weaker sections seeking admission to these prestigious institutes. If the government doesn�t reverse its plan, the CEC said, students who fail to score 80 per cent in Class 12 exams from next year onward cannot even qualify for an IIT entrance exam. As these institutes play a leading role in technological manpower development and have research programmes comparable to the best in the world, they need to provide equal opportunities for all the students in different parts of our country to access their courses. The CEC of SFI has therefore asked the central government to maintain the present criteria that students need to secure only 60 per cent in Class XII to qualify for appearing in the IIT JEE. (INN)