Two major engineering entrance examinations are used for admission to engineering institutes across

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination (IIT-JEE) and All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE). In 2010, a proposal for a common engineering entrance examination was made by the

Ministry of Human Resource Development The Ministry of Education ( MoE; formerly the Ministry of Human Resource Development from 1985 to 2020) is a ministry of the Government of India, responsible for the implementation of the National Policy on Education. The Ministry is further d ...

. The proposal has gone through several names and formats, and is expected to enter use in 2024. Yet, the common entrance exam for all engineering courses in India has not become effective, even for academic year 2021–22.

History

A common engineering entrance examination was first proposed by the

in February 2010 as "a common system for common admission into professional institutions in the country". One of the names proposed was Indian Science Engineering Eligibility Test (ISEET). It was meant as a replacement for the multitude of existing exams, but most specifically the Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination (IIT-JEE) and the All India Engineering Entrance Examination. The first-year version of the exam was planned to cover admissions to centrally-funded institutions, including the

Indian Institute of Science The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a public, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bengaluru, in the Indian state of Karnataka. The institute wa ...

(IISc),

Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) are a group of premier public research institutions in India. The institutes were established by the Government of India through the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHR ...

(IISERs) and some

deemed universities Deemed university, or deemed-to-be-university, is an accreditation granted to higher educational institutions in India by the Department of Higher Education. , the UGC lists 127 institutes which were granted the deemed to be university status. ...

. Per the decision of the ministry on 20 May 2012, the exam was to be introduced starting in 2013. Some state governments have already announced they will not join the exam, at least not for the first year, until doubts, mainly about the languages in which the exam will be made available, are cleared. The proposal also received strong opposition from the All India IIT Faculty Federation (AIIITFF) and the Indian Institutes of Technology alumni association, which stated concerns about the loss of the autonomy of IITs in their admission process.

Reasons for demand of common entrance exam

1. Many engineering colleges in India are known for taking a

capitation fee Capitation fee refers to an illegal transaction in which an organisation that provides educational services collects a fee higher than that approved by regulatory norms. Definition In the context of Indian law, a capitation fee refers to the colle ...

.
2. A common entrance exam will help students and parents save money that they otherwise have to spend on purchasing application forms and prospectus of various engineering colleges. Savings related to travel expenses for attending various entrance exams is another advantage.
3. Transparency in listing of entrance exam rankings and admission to engineering colleges.

Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)

On 18 June 2012, a more specific format was proposed by a joint meeting of the councils of IITs, NITs, and IIITs. As per this proposal, the exam would be called

Joint Entrance Examination The Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) is an engineering entrance assessment conducted for admission to various engineering colleges in India. It is constituted by two different examinations: the JEE-Main and the JEE-Advanced. The Joint Seat ...

(JEE) and would be made of two parts, JEE-MainJee Main 2013 Details
and JEE-Advanced. Two distinct "patterns of admission" would be used. For IITs, an average of the marks from Class XII Board exams and JEE-Main would be used for screening, allowing only a fixed number of candidates to be considered for admission. Ranking between these candidates will be based entirely on JEE-Advanced, the format of which would be decided by the Joint Admission Board of IITs. For other institutions (NITs, IIITs, and 20 GFTIs), admissions would be possible only if the candidate has secured at least 75 percent marks in their class 12th board examinations or has appeared in the top 20 percentile list of their respective boards for the class 12th board examination.

Objections

Two of the IITs have voiced strong objections to the common examination, and have announced that if the change takes place, they will conduct their own admittance exams.

Recent Developments

In August 2022, UGC Chairperson M. Jagadesh Kumar spoke about UGC proposal to merge

JEE Main Jee may refer to: People * Joe Jee (1883–1919), English football player * Joseph Jee (1819–1899), English surgeon * Martha Jee, also known as Martha Wong (1939–), Texas politician * Rupert Jee (born 1956), American entrepreneur and televi ...

NEET NEET, an acronym for "Not in Education, Employment, or Training", refers to a person who is unemployed and not receiving an education or vocational training. The classification originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1990s, and its use ha ...

into CUET as per NEP 2020 while being silent on

JEE Advanced Jee may refer to: People * Joe Jee (1883–1919), English football player * Joseph Jee (1819–1899), English surgeon * Martha Jee, also known as Martha Wong (1939–), Texas politician * Rupert Jee (born 1956), American entrepreneur and televi ...

, this has led to an outcry among students but Education Minister

Dharmendra Pradhan Dharmendra Pradhan (; born 26 June 1969) is an Indian politician serving as the Minister of Education and Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in the Government of India. He has also been the Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas ...

later clarified that merger will not happen in next 2 years.

References