Buoyed by the Supreme Court’s support for a single national entrance test for medicine, the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry is now considering a similar move for engineering courses.
According to sources, the ministry, under Prakash Javadekar’s ministership, has held several meetings on the proposal to conduct a single national-level entrance test for engineering. It is learnt that the government is keen that the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) conduct the examination.
“The plan is the introduce this test from the year 2018. We are still working on the finer details,” said a ministry official who did not wish to be identified. The move is expected to help engineering aspirants who are forced to sit for several entrance tests each year.
The official said that the government anticipates opposition from private institutes just like they had opposed NEET, but is hopeful of getting a favourable verdict if the move is challenged in court.
This isn’t the first time that the ministry has tried to introduce in a single entrance test for engineering courses.
Former HRD Minister Kapil Sibal in 2012 had attempted this, but he wasn’t successful as the IITs had refused to participate in the test. They wanted to continue admissions through JEE.
It is not clear at this moment if the entrance test proposed by the ministry under NDA II government will also cover premier institutions like the IITs and NITs.