HRD Minister Kapil Sibal will hold the first meeting of the Council of National Institutes of Technology (NITs) on Wednesday and hold discussions on a range of issues — from autonomy to funds and from changes in admission procedure to governance of institutes.

The meeting will come close on the heels of similar exercises the minister held with the IIT Council and IIM directors.

On the agenda of the Wednesday meet will be demands by the NITs for government funding on a par with the IITs, more autonomy in hiring of faculty, freedom to spend money for upgradation of institutes and changes in the admission procedure. The NITs, which are essentially upgraded Regional Engineering Colleges (RECs), admit students on the basis of the All-India Engineering Entrance Exam (AIEEE) conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Till 2007, the seats in an NIT used to be filled by allocating 50 per cent of the seats to eligible candidates of the state where the institute is situated and the rest were allocated to other states (Outside State Quota).

These Outside State Quota seats used to be filled by eligible candidates from the states based on their State/UT-specific AIEEE ranks. Last year, the HRD Ministry under Arjun Singh directed that 50 per cent seats reserved for others states be allocated instead on the basis of all-India AIEEE ranks.

With the new admission system leaving seats vacant across several NITs, the Council is expected to suggest some tweaking in the procedure and collaborating with the AIEEE to streamline admissions and ensure filling of vacant positions.

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