TNN Apr 7, 2012, 03.39AM IST
MUMBAI: In 2008, the Indian Institutes of Technology, for the first time, went overseas with their entrance examination as they set up a centre for the competitive test in Dubai.
It has been four years since then, but it does not seem likely that the fifth edition of the exam in Dubai will have anything to write home about: not only has the number of students signing up for the IIT-JEE remained the same over the past few years, it has even taken a dip this year. While in the previous years, the number of candidates hovered around 200 to 220, this time around, the figure is 186.
On Sunday, this small bunch of students, along with 5.06 lakh youngsters in India, will appear for the entrance exam held by the IITs, hoping to secure a seat in the prestigious technology school. Though the Dubai count of candidates has fallen, overall, the number has gone up from last year's 4.86 lakh and to accommodate all of them, the IITs have increased their exam centres to 1,067. With the 15 IITs across the country offering close to 9,590 seats, it will be a stiff competition as 53 candidates will have to battle it out for one seat. Incidentally, this year's test may become the last edition of the IIT's joint entrance exams as we have known it for years.
Explaining the rules for the exam, JEE chairman G B Reddy said, "Students will have to use a black ballpoint pen and not a pencil. The minimum score that a candidate must get to secure a rank has also been declared." The IITs have declared that general category students must score a minimum aggregate of 35% and at least 10% in each of the individual sections to be on the rank list. For OBC students, the minimum aggregate score should be 31.5% and at least 9% in individual sections; for SC/ST, it is 17.5% and 5% respectively.
In the last few years, the IITs have had the highest number of students qualifying from the IIT-Bombay zone. But with the new scoring rules being implemented, it remains to be seen if the scene changes. Under the Bombay zone, the number of candidates has also gone up in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, forcing the IITs to open additional exam centres, but Pune has seen a drop in applicants' number. Across the state, the number of exam centres has also been increased from lat year's 47 to 54, with two new units being set up in Akola and one each in Solapur, Kolhapur and Ratnagiri. "Exam centres in Mumbai are up from 13 to 16 and Navi Mumbai, from four to six. But we have fewer centres in Pune, where the figure has dropped from 11 to nine," said IIT-B's JEE chairman A V Mahajan.