BackJEE admissions subject to Supreme Court ruling
CBSE, Centre told to file counter affidavit within four weeks; court declines stay on admission process
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said admissions to centrally funded engineering schools will be subject to its eventual ruling on a petition challenging the system of admitting students, but did not grant a stay on the process that has already begun.
“Any admissions made by the respondent by virtue of interim policy will be subject to the outcome of this writ," the court said.
This means admissions under the rankings put out by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and related authorities are not final until the court delivers its verdict.
A bench of justices H.L Dattu and Deepak Misra asked CBSE and the Union government to carry disclaimers to that effect while granting admissions until the final disposal of the matter. The bench also asked the respondents to file a counter affidavit in the court within four weeks, said Siddhesh Kotwal, an advocate for the petitioners. CBSE conducted the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE)-Main, the first of a new two-tier admission system to engineering colleges, in April for at least 1.6 million students. Fifty-three students had moved the apex court on Tuesday, seeking a stay on the publication of the JEE-Main results. The exam is the common entrance test for admission to all 30 National Institutes of Technology (NITs), half-a-dozen Indian institutes of information technology and other top technology schools, except the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).
From this year, students will be selected on their performance in the entrance exam as well as marks they scored in their Class XII board exams. For the first time, the admission process for these institutes gives a 40% weight to the performance of students in their board exams.
The petitioners argued that this normalization process was flawed and unscientific and could jeopardize the careers of many students. “We have prayed to the Supreme Court for the (normalization) policy to be quashed," said Kotwal.
U.U. Lalit, a lawyer for the petitioners, said the process had affected the chances of more than 25,000 students in getting admission to top engineering schools.
Even as CBSE counsel Amarendra Sharan argued the merits of the normalization process in court, judge Misra said, “Normalization has to have rationality."
Justice Dattu said the students’ petition was “questioning the policy" of the Union government. “Central and state governments come up with policies for exams and some or the other students will always be aggrieved. Can we (Supreme Court) entertain policy matters?," he said, putting the issue in perspective.
The Supreme Court bench said the matter was simultaneously being heard at a number of high courts, including the ones in Delhi and Andhra Pradesh and, hence, found it prudent not to interfere at this stage.
CBSE counsel Sharan said, “We think the writ petition is not maintainable, but we are not against the court notice as it will help club all cases", and resolve the “matter once for all".
“We argued the policy is well thought out and researched," said Sharan, adding that it will benefit more financially disadvantaged students who could not afford coaching.
CBSE chairman Vineet Joshi could not be reached despite several phone calls and a text message on his mobile phone.
While CBSE has said the new system will diminish the influence of coaching institutes in the selection process, the petitioners argue it will promote the culture of coaching. “First, the students will take coaching for school board, then for JEE. Where is the question of its influence reducing?" said Suresh Menghnani, father of one of the petitioners.
“As parents... we were hoping for (court) interference in the matter. They should have heard the matter on merits and given some relief, either in favour or against, setting the record straight. Now this uncertainty will prevail for all students, over a prolonged period and...all petitioners will have taken admission in one or another institute by the time the judgment is delivered," Menghnani said.
While putting in place the new two-tier common engineering entrance exam last year, the government said it would reduce stress on students by doing away with multiplicity of exams.
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