Srinagar, Jul 02: The Centre is considering a proposal to assign 50 per cent weightage to Class 12 board examination marks in admissions to professional courses that are currently based primarily on entrance examinations such as NEET and JEE, NDTV reported.
According to the report, the proposal is aimed at reducing the high stakes associated with a single examination, whether board exams or competitive entrance tests. The move comes amid growing concerns over irregularities in the examination system, including paper leaks and evaluation errors, which have sparked a wider debate on the credibility of the current assessment process.
The report, quoting sources, says that the reforms under consideration include giving equal weightage to board examination scores in the admission process, aligning entrance examinations more closely with school curricula to reduce students’ dependence on coaching institutes, allowing multiple attempts at entrance tests, and gradually introducing adaptive, on demand computer based examinations. At present, admissions to medical and engineering programmes are determined largely by NEET and JEE scores, while candidates are only required to secure the minimum qualifying marks in their board examinations to be eligible for these entrance tests.
The report further says that the proposed changes are being examined by a nine member committee constituted by the Ministry of Education last year. The panel was tasked with studying issues related to students’ reliance on coaching centres, the growing prevalence of “dummy schools”, and measures to improve fairness and transparency in high stakes entrance examinations.
No official decision has been announced on the proposed reforms so far.
