[Assam] Asom, NE students worried over new NIT seat allocation

[Pradip Kumar Datta]

Asom, NE students worried over new NIT seat allocation 

By our Staff Reporter  sentinel assam
GUWAHATI, June 12: The June 9 circular of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) on the filling up of National Institute of Technology (NIT) seats through All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE) seems to be against the interest of students from Asom and its neighbouring States in the north-eastern region. 

Earlier the procedure for filling up of NIT seats was that 50 per cent of the total seats of an NIT were meant for domicile candidates of the State concerned, while the remaining 50 per cent seats were allocated to different States/Union Territories. But in its June 9 circular, the Department of Higher Education and Technical Education Bureau of HRD has made a major shift in the process for filling up of the 50 per cent seats meant for non-domicile candidates of the States. “The HRM Minister has decided that from 2008-09 onwards, admission in the NITs against non-domicile seats would be on all India merit basis,” the circular said.

Circles concerned in Asom and other States of the Northeast feel that since the NIT seats are filled from amongst the candidates qualifying AIEEE conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE), students from CBSE course definitely have an edge over those from the Board of Secondary Education, Assam (SEBA), Meghalaya Board of Secondary Education (MBoSE) and boards of other States of the Northeast.

It may be mentioned here that besides 230 of the 460 seats (50 per cent seats) of NIT Silchar, candidates from Asom used to get as many as 230 seats as the State’s allocation from the 19 NITs situated elsewhere in the country. “Since the HRD has done away with the reservation system for the non-domicile NIT seats in the country, candidates from Asom, Meghalaya and other States of the region may not even get any of the non-domicile seats. This is a gross injustice to the backward and geographically isolated north-eastern region,” circles concerned in the region said.

Circles concerned added: “This new system will only benefit the advanced States, and this is against the policy of bridging the widening gap between the Northeast and mainland India. The Asom Government and governments in other States of the region should therefore take up the matter immediately with the HRD as the decision was taken without consulting any of the States.” It may be mentioned here that counselling of NIT will start on June 16.