JEE (Main) Score Will Determine Admission to all Engineering Colleges from 2018

JEE (Main) will be a pan-India engineering test from the next year, that is, 2018, the Centre has ruled. This means that unlike the current method, all engineering colleges will have to consider students’ JEE (Main) scores for admission. Students thus will be saved of the pain of answering multiple entrance tests for technical institutes.

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) will formulate regulations which will make it mandatory for all technical institutions to accept JEE-Main scores for admitting students. The  discretion to give weightage to marks obtained in XII board exams or admit students only on basis of scores of JEE (Main) , will however rest with the institutes. Also they will be able to decide if they want to give 20% weightage to board exams or 40%.

The IITs will continue with the scores of JEE (Advanced) conducted by Joint Admission Board (JAB) of premier technical institutes of the country.

It is expected that this step towards universalising the admission procedure to engineering colleges will not only reduce the burden of students who now have to appear for multiple exams but will also improve the standard of engineering education in India. At present there thousands of engineering colleges in the country, with many which do not follow a transparent admission process and where merit does not remain the sole criteria to secure a seat. The government’s move therefore might right the existing wrongs, thereby raising the standard of education and making merit of students crucial to accessing quality higher education.