Admissions to IITs and the IISc
We, in
India, are usually concerned about marks and entrance examinations. Lakhs of applicants take the JEE (Main) test
and those who get a specified minimum in that test take the JEE (Advanced).
Finally, the top 10,000 rankers from the JEE (Advanced) get admission to IITs.
There must be a few countries where such severe competition exists. Is there a
statistical difference between those are in the 9900-10,000 ranks and in the
11900-12000 rank band? I doubt it.
That is
not the end of the story. What do the tests measure? I have heard skeptical
comments from many academics about how the exam-coaching industry runs circles
round the system!
I was
worrying about my daughter’s studying for the exams when she was in the 12th
Grade. “Do you want me to get marks, or get an education, Daddy?”, she asked.
The professors know the difference. One of them, from the Indian Institute of
Science has written a short article on Linked in which is essential reading for
all those interested in the field of higher education. Visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/prof-mayank-shrivastava-06439413/
He tells you how bad Entrance Exam top rankers can be.
Srinivasan Ramani
