A New Era
Budding engineers, take note - A new JEE is here! What does it mean for you?

By The Career Choices Team
One of the biggest criticisms of engineering entrance exams has been that they tend to focus too much on the academic front.

While it is true that in-depth knowledge of the fundamentals of Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics is essential for any budding engineer, there’s another very important factor that has tended to be ignored: Aptitude.

This is something the West has known for a long time: Universities abroad tend to look at a candidate’s overall personality, track record, and potential, unlike in India, where your field of study and chosen subjects are emphasised to the exclusion of everything else.

And thanks to this emphasis, you’ve all heard of students who simply ignore their XII. Focusing on just clearing the Boards, they burn the midnight oil for the JEE, AIEEE, and other state engineering

entrance examinations. You’ve also heard of ‘dummy schools’ where IIT preparation is all that matters. What that has done so far is to raise the bar very high. To get a good rank in the JEE, you cannot make any slip-ups. Of course, as is the intention, the JEE filters out all but the most technically-proficient candidates.

BAD STRATEGY
But what about those who might just fail to make the grade by a mark or two, even though they still have the knowledge, ability, and potential to do well in their chosen field? Students who'd make excellent engineers and scientists but fail to answer a few questions corrctly? What about the students and families who spend a few years under mental and financial stress - preparing and taking entrance test is no easy feat? Why aren’t Indian companies, organisations, scientists, and engineers leading the world in innovation even though our engineering education has to be amongst the toughest? How about the students who are creative, inquisitive, intelligent, quick-thinking, hard-working - and have all the skills a Facebook or Apple would seek - but fell short by a few marks? Are we excluding aptitude and other important skills to the detriment of our budding engineers? Is judging a high-school's student future potential as an engineer solely on his or her problem solving abilities in Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics a good idea? Or are we ignoring other skills that are just as important for success?

INCOMPLETE ASSESSMENT
In 2008, Chemistry Nobel laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan revealed that he had failed to make the grade for the IITs! A Nobel Prize winner rejected by the IITs? Just think: how many more promising students would have been cast out from India’s elite institutions on the basis of a handful of marks? Students who definitely have it in them to make it big - students whose knowledge is complemented by a scientific temper and aptitude?

That’s about to change. In perhaps the biggest-ever overhaul of entrance examinations, the government has announced the Indian Science Engineering Eligibility Test (ISEET), which will become the single-point, unified method of entry to engineering courses.

What is the ISEET? Well, we’ll explain as we go along, but in a nutshell, engineering aspirants will now not only be tested for their knowledge of Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics, but will also have to focus on the XII Boards, apart from improving their general and scientific aptitude. This marks a watershed moment for Indian education and has the potential of transforming engineering studies for ever.

THE OLD ORDER
Let’s look at the old - and outgoing - Joint Entrance Examination. The JEE is the most prestigious of the various engineering entrance tests in India, and is the sole mode of entry for the IITs. Utilising two objective-type papers (focusing on Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics), the JEE is nominally based on the XI & XII Board syllabus. Of course, the questions are usually of a much higher standard (read, difficulty). Around five lakh students appear for the JEE each year - competing for 9,618 seats.

Other prominent exams include the All India Engineering Entrance Examination (used for admission to the NITs, IIITs, and other national institutions) and BITSAT (used for admission to the BITS system). Apart from these, most states and universities have their own separate testing system.

What this does is put a lot of pressure on the student. Not only must an aspirant prepare for the Boards, but also for 2-3 (at least) of the engineering exams. This also adds a financial burden upon families - as each test (while very similar in syllabus) can differ in format and presentation, and the level of competition is very high, candidates have to be well prepared for each test - practice questions, old papers, mock tests, etc are de rigueur

Some of the criticisms of the JEE/AIEEE include:
1. Skill level: Several of the questions are impossibly tough and beyond the abilities of most students - even the brightest ones. Some experts say that students should be acquiring these skills at university, not at the school-level. School-leaving and university-entrance tests should, instead, focus on understanding of the subject and aptitude for the stream of study in question. Other critical skills are ignored completely in favour of technical problem solving. Seventeen-year-olds should not be kept away from building a career in engineering just because they may not match up to the intensive knowledge requirements of the JEE and AIEEE.

2. Overemphasis: Students sometimes focus on the JEE to the exclusion of other essential activities. Our schooldays, being our formative years, are where we should be focusing on overall personality development. University and engineering college is where you should be sharpening your career and professional skills. It is sad that many students, through no fault of their own, are unable to focus on their overall development. Hobbies, sports, language skill, and creative pursuits are a healthy - and required - part of our teenage years. The old JEE system forced students to abandon these pursuits in favour of a gruelling academic regime.

3. Academic confusion: Many students either fail to get into the institute of their choice, or find that their preferred stream is not available to them. Some of these students may have focused entirely on the JEE and failed to get good marks in the Boards. It doesn’t mean that these students won’t make good engineers (or economists). Where do these students go now that their options are curtailed?

A NEW DAWN
Enter an enlightened school of thought. One that asks, “Hey, engineers are more than technical-problem-solving machines. A good engineer also has to be aware of the world around him, and should have a creative bent of mind.”

Western universities and corporations have known this for a while. The educational system abroad favours quick thinking, creativity, aptitude, and adaptability. Look at the biggest corporations around - From Microsoft and Apple, to Airbus and Ford. These have indeed built up a staggering amount of knowledge and patents, but their technical expertise is backed - in fact, boosted - by creativity, ingenuity, and other factors that have led them to rule their respective domains. Why have Indian companies languished so far? And are we really doing our students and future scientists, engineers, and managers a disservice by encouraging a one-dimensional sort of competence?

The changes to the JEE system were first mooted in 2011 by the T Ramasami Commission. In September last year, the commission, which had been tasked by the Ministry of Human Resource Development with examining the possibility of unifying engineering entrance exams, submitted its report to the Government of India.

Amongst the objectives presented were: the 'Alternative Test Scheme' should test candidates on their ability and not preparedness or knowledge; should focus on students' potential; and allow more equal representation from across the country. The commission also urged a system of normalisation of Board marks across the country - this will alleviate any fears students from 'tougher' Board systems might have.

The new system seeks to remedy the old JEE's shortcomings mentioned earlier. The HRD Ministry has taken into account the JEE’s drawbacks and put forth a forward-looking, revolutionary entrance system that can be expected to improve access to engineering courses. From next year, students will be asked to give the ISEET. The ISEET itself will contribute 60% of the weightage to their final score. Your XII Board result will now contribute 40% to the final score.

The ISEET will comprise two sections with equal weightage:
Main: This objective-type section will test students on thinking, logical reasoning, and comprehension. In a way, this will test the common skills that contribute to success in any field.

Advance: This section will test students on problem-solving abilities in basic science - Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics. The questions will also mostly be easier than in the current JEE

THE GROUND REALITIES
Well, I hope most of you have been reassured that the new system will not harm your prospects. In fact, it will only reduce the academic and financial burden on you and your families. But what exactly will happen?

• Students and the families are saved the financial burden of appearing for multiple exams
  
• Students can focus on their XII Boards as well - ensuring they have other options apart from engineering
  
• Students can focus on sports, hobbies, and extra-curricular activities as they will have more free time
  
• The aptitude skills you will prepare for will also familiarise you with entrance tests for BBA, law, and others
  
• Students will be recognised for skills apart from Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics; your reasoning skills, language skills, and general aptitude will be given credit in the ISEET
  
• In its inaugural year - 2013 - the ISEET will be held twice. Subsequently, there will be multiple testing dates. This will be a boon for students as no longer will ill-health, family commitments, school programmes, and sports activities come in the way of your engineering entrance preparation.

To sum up, under the old IIT-JEE system, you were tested on your problem solving and application skills. The new ISEET, with its emphasis on XII Board performance and aptitude, will see you tested on your understanding/comprehension/reasoning and basic knowledge as well: It will look at your potential as an engineer

BENEFITS
Are you still worried? There’s no need to be. Most experts opine that the new system will make the best institutes more accessible. Students won’t find themselves left out in the cold just because they fell short by a few marks. The new system is also expected to lead to a more diverse student population - not just the experts at Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics. This April 2012 issue of Career Choices focuses specifically on the new ISEET. Read on for a comprehensive view of the new ISEET system, its differences from the old JEE, and why the new system is much better. Hopefully, this should put any fears to rest!