Opinion The class in Class XII

IIT-JEE has always been one of the biggest attractions for students — irrespective of region,financial status and the schools they study in. Guided by nothing but merit,it gave the students equal opportunity. In a diverse country like India,with huge disparities in school education in urban and rural areas as well as private and government institutions,this has been one examination that stood the test of time. IIT-JEE has been both a dream and a great leveller.

No wonder,when HRD Minister Kapil Sibal talked of reforms,on the pretext of reducing the students’ dependence on coaching institutes and ensuring greater emphasis on school education,serious doubts were expressed at the very outset. Nobody can dispute the fact that the dependence on coaching institutes should come down and that students should have more faith in their schools,as was the case till a couple of decades ago when coaching institutes were few and far between. After all,who would want to spend lakhs of rupees on coaching alone? For the poor and the middle class,it is a huge drain,but they are left with a Hobson’s choice due to the pathetic state of government schools,especially secondary and higher secondary schools. The schools often do not have proper infrastructure and capable teachers. The result is abysmal attendance,even as elite private schools witness an unprecedented rush for admission.

Since government schools,which cater to the bulk of the students,are not quality-conscious,students invariably look for alternatives and land up in mushrooming coaching institutes,which have courses to suit one’s pocket,if not necessarily aptitude. They come in all hues — from top-notch ones with heavy fees to modest ones offering tuition at relatively lower fees. Rich or poor,students come there with the dream of making it to an IIT,and their parents sacrifice their comforts and even basic needs in the hope of a better tomorrow for the children.

Had the school system been good enough and ensured uniform quality in education,this problem would not have emerged.

There was a time when students got admission in engineering colleges for a capitation fee of Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh. Now,the cost of coaching alone costs more,plus there is the cost of living in big cities where such institutes proliferate.

For the poor,opportunities matter the most. There is a growing awareness among them about the opportunities that education brings in. This is reflected in more and more students from underprivileged families sitting for IIT-JEE and making it,thanks to their hard work,determination to excel and,of course,the opportunity to do so.

The HRD ministry’s move seems to be a dampener for students,especially the underprivileged ones from rural areas. With barely nine months left for the 2013 test,students don’t know what to expect. With most IITs pulling out of the government scheme of joint entrance test,the government is likely to start another round of consultations to bring everyone on a common platform. Until that happens,the students,for whom the entire setup is meant and for whose benefit the authorities seem to be doing all this,will be the biggest losers. They have become victims of the government’s bid to rush with its “experiment” with an established system,without doing its homework well.

The first and foremost thing the ministry should have done was to take the IITs into confidence,because these are autonomous institutions that the nation takes pride in. Some incongruities may creep into any system over time,but that does not necessarily require large-scale surgery. A single exam can be good enough. After the Supreme Court ruling in the Simran Jain case,there was one exam for medical entrance. The IIMs too have one exam. For engineering also,there can be one,but it should remain only one.

What the HRD ministry has done shows the disconnect between India and Bharat. An education system cannot be for a small section of elites who can afford quality education. The need is to first work at the grassroots and strengthen the school system,invest in quality teachers to attract students and usher in examination reforms. Reforms can never succeed if started at the top. They have to be gradual,done with meticulous planning and should start from the bottom.

The proposed joint entrance test includes an objective-type question paper called Main and Advanced to be held on the same day. Now nearly five lakh students take IIT-JEE,and over 10 lakh take AIEEE. Under the new reforms,all the students will have to take both the tests,irrespective of whether one wants to go for IIT or not. It means students will have to prepare with equal intensity for three exams — one for Class 12,as it will have weightage,then JEE-Main and finally JEE-Advanced. All this will lead to extreme pressure on the students.

In a country where there has been so much debate on reducing the burden of examination on students — and in pursuit of which the government did away with Class X boards and changed the marking system to a grading system — the new move will suddenly bring the students face to face with the hottest competition and at various levels. This translates into more burden on students and they are sure to fall deeper into the trap of coaching institutes.

If the government wants to have one test for the entire country,it should go ahead and have just one exam. The idea should be to make it simple. The top performers get IITs,then the IIITs and NITs and so on. This will also help develop a grading of institutions and help students make a choice.

The questions should be set by experts from IIT,AIEEE and CBSE. And they need to set questions that don’t drive students to coaching institutes. Conceptual questions of Class XII level will be enough to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Until now,the questions asked in IIT-JEE are not of Class 12 level,but much above that. There is a huge difference between the school curriculum and what’s asked of students in IIT-JEE. The students have no choice but to go to coaching institutes,as the schools are ill-equipped to prepare them for the exam. The thrust should be on minimising the rural-urban divide by providing a level-playing field.

The writer is founder,Super 30,Patna
express@expressindia.com