Just one more day and 2011 will become past. Every year is eventful and every event carries its own set of news value for every individual. 2011 was no different and brought some good and bad news for the engineering aspirants. Let us take a look at them.
1. AIEEE paper leak: The Largest entrance test came as rude shock to students as the question paper got leaked on the date of exam itself. There was confusion regarding the reschedule causing worries for parents and students alike. All in all, a big setback.
2. AIEEE online format: Though the exam went on without any technical snags it did not get a good response. Very few students registered for the new format. However, things improved by the end as registration for 2012 saw a substantial increase.
3. IIT-JEE format: This mother of all engineering entrance exams is a perennial newsmaker. 2011 saw a lot of discussion over its format. However, nothing got finalized till the end. The IIT council will meet in the 1st week of the New Year to decide the new format.
4. Sectional cut-off at IIT-JEE: IIT-JEE did receive its share of format reforms as the Joint Admission Board announced sectional cut-off for each subject from 2012.
5. Narayan Murthy on IITians: The Infosys founder expressed concern over the deteriorating quality of IIT students. He laid the blame on coaching institutes for the falling standard and asked for administrative reforms in these premiere institutions.
6. Fee waiver for female IIT-JEE aspirants: The IITs reduced the fees for girl students in a bid to address the disproportionate gender ratio.
7. Placements at new IITs: The new born cousins of the brand engineering institutions did not fare well on the placement front. The packages were low comparatively. The number of companies coming to the campus was also a source of disappointment.
8. Sreedharan’s demand for Metro courses at IITs: The metro man wrote to the HRD Ministry asking it to start specialised course in Metro technology at IITs. He said that the expansion of Metro has created a demand for specialised engineers and there was a need for such courses.
9. Facebook’s entry in IIT campus placement: The largest social networking site came for recruitment and took away students from Kanpur, Delhi and IT-BHU at handsome packages. Radhika Mittal from IIT-Kanpur got a package of 63 lakhs.
10. Changed pattern of GRE: The admission test for studies in U.S. and Singapore taken by a lot of engineering aspirants changed its pattern.