Govt rejects criticism of decision to have common IIT-JEE test

As IIT alumni wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh complaining against the move, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal termed it as "complete misrepresentation of facts" by them.

He told reporters that he had categorically said at the IIT council meeting that if "there is a single dissent" he will not go ahead with the proposal.

"The council consists of the IITs, the IIITs and the NITs. There was not a single dissent. It was unanimously adopted. Therefore, I went forward," the Minister said.

"I had also said the views of the senate would be taken into account. And will not move forward till their views are taken into account. Their views were taken into account," he said.

Last week, Sibal had announced that from 2013, aspiring candidates for IITs and other central institutes like NITs and IIITs will have to sit under new a format of common entrance test which will also take plus two board results into consideration.

This was not a government decision and all directors of IIT, NIT, and IIIT sitting together unanimously said that "this was a right decision," Sibal said.

"There is a statute. Under the statute, there is a council. And a decision is taken under the statute by the council. I, as the Minister, happened to be the chairman of the council," he said.

Sibal said out of seven, four senates agreed to the decision formally. Senates points were taken into account.

"Guwahati, Kharagpur, Madras and Roorkie were the four supporters of it. Incidentally, as far as Bombay is concerned, they also supported," he said.