KEAM: Entrance Reform fails to take off

With the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations, Kerala announcing the schedule for the Entrance Examinations to Professional Degree Courses 2010, it is almost certain that one of the major recommendations of the Committee constituted by Government for suggesting reforms related to the Entrance Examinations, on the pattern of the papers of the Entrance Examinations, will not be implemented in 2010 examinations also, unless last minute changes are announced in the structure of the entrance Examinations.

The Committee had recommended that the examination in Physics and Chemistry should be common for Engineering and Medical streams as against the practice of conducting examinations in Physics & Chemistry separately for the Engineering and Medical streams with weightage for Physics and Chemistry in the ratio 3:2 for Engineering and 2:3 for Medical. The committee had also recommended that equal weightage should be given to Physics, Chemistry and Biology for the Medical entrance, there should be 120 questions for Mathematics, 120 for Biology (60 from Botany and 60 from Zoology) and 60 questions each from Physics and Chemistry.

It had also recommended that the present weightage of 5:3:2 for Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry for the Engineering entrance should continue.

With the schedule for the Entrance Examination 2010 showing the existing pattern of separate examinations in Physics & Chemistry for Engineering and Medical as in 2009, the proposal of the reforms committee is not going to be implemented in 2010 examinations. The paper in Physics and Chemistry for Engineering will be held on 19.4.2010 and that for Chemistry & Physics for Medical will be held on 21.4.2010 as per the schedule announced by the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations.

If the recommendation is accepted, the examination in Physics and Chemistry would be common for the Engineering and Medical streams. The number of examination would come down to three from four (2 each in Engineering and Medical) at present. The report of the Committee was submitted to the Government on May 24, 2008.

No decision has been announced on the other major recommendation of the Committee, related to the change in the ranking system for the Entrance Examinations. The Committee had recommended giving a weightage in the ratio 50:50 to the marks in the qualifying examination and score in the Entrance Examination, in the preparation of rank list for admission to Professional Degree Courses. As of now, the rank list for admission to Professional Degree Courses is being prepared based on the marks in the Entrance Examinations only.

The committee had also recommended restrictions on the number of chances that candidates could avail for attending the Entrance Examinations. It had recommended that candidates in the General category be given only two chances to appear for the examinations and those in the Scheduled Caste category, four. Scheduled Tribe category candidates will not have any such limit. No decision has been announced on this also so far.

The Committee had also proposed the setting up of a Question Bank for the Entrance Examinations with a permanent set up for that.

With the schedule of the Entrance Examinations for 2010 announced, the prospective candidates would have to go ahead with the preparations for the examinations as in 2009.