India is the most competitive country in the world in terms of students appearing for various national exams. The number of students to seats ratio; be it in engineering, medicine or MBA can go from 5:1 to sometimes 15:1. Some of the mind boggling statistics include
- 13 lakh students appeared for AIEEE 2010
- More than 2 lakh students appeared for CBSE PMT 2009
- Around 3 lakh students appeared for CAT 2009
Add to this the lakhs of students who write various other hundreds of exams throughout a period of two – three months and end up spending thousands in exam fees alone.
The presence of so many exams has caused humungous problems to the students –
- At present there are more than 17 exams in the country for medicine. A student aspiring to become a doctor has to at least sit for 5-6 to have any chance
- Students end up spending money like crazy giving exams left, right and center. So for many, before they really pay the fees for their education, they have to take loans to pay for these exams
- Sometimes, some exams overlap or are in a gap of one or two days of each other. This results in students having to take flights to travel between examination centers
- Since currently the exams are organized by various state boards, each of them have different rules, regulations and also eligibility criteria. This puts magnanimous pressure on the students shoulders
Finally, our Medical Council of India has decided for a much required Single Common Entrance Test. More than anything else, the biggest gainers from this will be the students.
Other than the fact that the above mentioned problems would be removed, it would remove all the tension and stress associated with the fact of having to take so many exams.
According to the modalities worked out, different colleges would have cut offs like on the lines of CAT on the basis of which students would be shortlisted though the students will have to apply to different colleges separately. This would also help in maintaining uniformity and consistent standards across the country.
This system could also prevent politicians from exploiting the system for their own personal goals!
Having one exam actually has the potential to remove all the ills of the system. But only time will tell whether this move will be really successful.
Do you think having a single entrance test for management and engineering will help too?