More seats, IIT cut-offs drop

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3318417.cms

More seats, IIT cut-offs drop
2 Aug, 2008, 2030 hrs IST,Hemali Chhapia, TNN

Mumbai: The increase in the number of seats at the IITs may have spelt
good news, but entry levels have fallen at these hallowed
institutions. If the total seats went up from 5,537 to 6,992 this
year, the general category cut-off has fallen from 206 to 180 out of
489. Also, only a handful of ST students qualified for the six new
IITs.

Despite the "generous" relaxations the IITs provide for the quota
candidates , 397 SC/ST seats are going abegging and almost 35 OBC
seats are vacant. IIT-Madras director P V Indiresan said, "The drop in
cut-offs is significant. One reason could be that the IITs took in
more students. But there are other concerns—the JEE is outdated for
one. Also, the quality of quota candidates admitted is being
compromised as more students need to be taken in."

SORRY FIGURES

Overall cut-off marks have fallen from 206 to 180 this year as the
number of seats has gone up by 1,455. The cut-off for SC/STs is a mere
104.

3.11 lakh students took the JEE this year for 6,992 seats in 13 IITs.
Of these, 414 seats were reserved for ST candidates , but only 159
were shortlisted. Similarly, only 690 were shortlisted for the 832 SC
seats. The OBC figures were 1,099 out of 1,134. This means that 432
seats have gone abegging this year.


The top ranker in the general category scored 433 marks while the last
student to make it scored 180. Among SCs & STs, the toppers scored 322
and 292.

Experts say that a span of 14 marks can accommodate nearly 1,500
general category students. Assuming a cut-off of even 150, it means
that nearly 4,500 general category students have conceivably lost out
on an IIT education.

Times View:

To let over 430 seats in IITs go vacant is a criminal waste of
infrastructure (such as faculty and physical facilities). Reservations
are meant to give disadvantaged sections of society a boost. But where
quotas cannot be filled because there aren't enough suitable
candidates, the cut-off for the general category should be relaxed so
that all seats are used up—the cut-off will still be higher than for
SC/STs, so no one can argue that it will dilute academic standards. As
with airline seats and hotel rooms, these seats are 'perishable' ,
they must be filled the same year. This should not affect next year's
quota.