Engineering common test put on hold

New Delhi: The much touted move to conduct a single entrance test for engineering courses across the country has been seemingly put on hold by the Union human resource development after a few states raised objection regarding the examination.

Sources stated that the move is being opposed by the West Bengal and Tamil Nadu governments forcing the HRD ministry to back track on the issue. Country’s technical education regulator, All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), had announced in March that a national-level common entrance examination for engineering colleges would be conducted from the next academic year in 2018.

“It is important to have consensus on the introduction of a common exam. So the plan has been put on hold for now. The common counselling provisions also need to be discussed with the states,” sources stated. 

Sources stated that the West Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee sent a letter to the HRD minister opposing the Centre’s move. The government had initiated the move for a common test for admission to engineering courses taking the example of the NEET for medical and dental colleges introduced last year.