Coaching class culture unhelpful

The reported proposal of the Union HRD ministry to raise the HSC marks cut-off for applying for the entrance test for the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) has found support among IIT directors, staff, and alumni. But the question of how to compare marks awarded by various state and central education boards remains unresolved.

Until the early 1960s, remembers Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur director Sanjay Dhande, board toppers were admitted to IITs directly. "This showed the respect and importance associated with the school education system," he says.

The situation today is different and Dhande agrees that the question of students not attending schools and giving excessive importance to entrance tests like the JEE (Joint Entrance Examination) is something that needs to be addressed.

On Monday, Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal had mooted a proposal to insist on at least 80% marks at the HSC examination to allow a student to appear for the IIT-JEE. This, he said, would also check the proliferation of IIT coaching centres. Sibal on Tuesday refuted that he made such comments saying that the IITs could decide on admission criteria.

Referring to the committee which has been set up to look at rationalising the JEE and examine ways to make the Std XII exams more meaningful, IIT Guwahati director Gautam Barua said: "There are 29 boards in the country and there has to be some normalisation. Several possibilities were discussed on Monday."

Bharat Seth, a member of the IIT Bombay faculty, said the "coaching class culture" is unhelpful and prepares students to master exams without understanding the fundamentals. "We need a system which doesn't make students dependent on these classes," he said.

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