Weeks of uncertainty over the one-nation one-test for engineering courses ended Wednesday as the row between the government and the Indian Institutes of Technology was resolved with a compromise agreement reached at the IIT council meeting on common exams to be held from 2013.
Under the new format, an advanced test will be held and the institutes will admit students having the top 20 per cent marks from various school boards.
Wednesday’s meeting was held in the absence of HRD minister Kapil Sibal, chairperson of the IITs’ highest decision-making body. The meeting was chaired by M.N. Sharma, chairman of IIT Madras’ board of governors. “There was complete unanimity among the council members on the new format,” Mr Sharma said.
Admission to the IITs from 2013 will be based only on ranks achieved in the advanced test subject to the selected candidates being in the top 20 percentile of their boards.