After a NEET mess, Centre’s unified engg test plan worries TN

Even before Tamil Nadu could come to terms with the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for medical admissions, the Centre is proposing to introduce a similar process for engineering education as well, which is sure to stir a hornet’s nest in the State.

The details about the proposal to conduct a nationwide test being initiated by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) was revealed by AICTE vice chairman MP Poonia during a recent visit to Chennai. This has set off a debate on the move, with mixed reactions from not only academicians but students as well.

The proposal, if taken forward, is crucial to Tamil Nadu which has more than 500 engineering colleges, both private and government-run, churning out about one lakh fresh graduates every year. (The number of seats are 1.62 lakh, much higher than the admission numbers.) According to State Higher Education Department, the entrance exam was abolished to create a level playing field for the rural students, as it was felt that students from urban and more well-to-do families were able to afford coaching classes which gave them an edge over the rest.

Higher Education Minister KP Anbalagan maintained that there was no official communication from the Centre on common entrance exam for engineering courses. “Let it (official information) come, then we will take a call on it,” he said. The State would not be in a haste to implement any scheme that is against the wishes of the students and parents, the Minister added. In the past, the admissions were based on interviews. Finding it inadequate, the government introduced the Tamil Nadu Professional Courses Entrance Examination (TNPCEE) in 1989 conducted by the Anna University. This process continued till 2006-07 when the State government scrapped it. Since then, admissions are based only on the marks secured in Class 12 board exams.

“Many students from poor and rural families could not afford coaching classes for TNPCEE. It was scrapped for their benefit,” said a senior official from the Directorate of Technical Education, defending the current procedure. Pointing out that the existing system has been going on without any glitches, he official said the State government would not accept the move to introduce common entrance.

ACADEMICIANS DIFFER: The academicians, however, are divided on the proposal. Former Anna University Vice Chancellor E Balagurusamy is among those who are strongly advocating the re-introduction of entrance exam, citing the perceived lack of quality among a large section of engineering graduates.

According to him, more than 80 per cent of the graduates were not getting engineering jobs because they fail to clear the examination. If there is an entrance exam, only students with a certain quality would get admission in the first place, he argued.

He said he had given several representations to the government on re-introducing entrance exams, explaining the reasons why it was necessary. “The entrance exams should be conducted in such a way that only deserving students should get admission so as to produce good quality engineers to meet the demand from the industry,” Balagurusamy said. In the opposite corner is PB Prince Gajendra Babu from the State Platform for the Common School System, Tamil Nadu, an ardent opponent of NEET, who said this would surely affect rural students and those who cannot afford coaching classes. “The Class 12 syllabus is on a par with the CBSE and based on competitive exams. Then why should there be a proposal to introduce entrance exams? It is really ridiculous,” he said. K Lakshmana Kumar, a mechanical engineering professor of a private college functioning under a deemed university, is among those who believe that entrance test would only benefit the students in ensuring that they would have no difficulty when they begin engineering education. In his opinion, entrance test would weed out those who performed poorly in board exam.

Raising a pertinent point, S Praveen Kumar, a third year automobile engineering student, pointed out that the engineering graduates were not finding jobs because of poor communication skills – which has nothing to do with entrance exam that deals only with admission. The State would not produce quality engineers just by introducing entrance exam but only by providing good training, he added.

Meanwhile, those from the industry who employ these graduates say many of them are not able to get the right job. “An entrance exam tests the student’s aptitude and IQ at the initial stage itself, so she/he would be confident while entering the college. Therefore, it is not a bad idea to re-introduce entrance exam,” said KL Bharat, who is working with a leading recruiting firm in Chennai.

Agreeing to this point of view, a senior HR staff at Ashok Leyland added: “If rural students are affected by entrance exams as is being claimed, it is the government’s responsibility to give them proper training for the test.”