NO STATE QUOTA IN NITs

Now here's something new. On June 9, there was an order issued by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, according to which there will be no state quota for admissions into the NITs. That is, apart from the 50% quota for the students of the state in which the NIT is situated, there wouldn't be any fixed state quota for filling up the other 50% seats. Follow the link: Admissions in NITs – State and All India eligibility

So what would you make out of it? Is it really good that the NITs are following the IITs in this regard?

It seems to be a positive move. But is it really? Let's take a sneak peak into the college state-rank-trends. That is the major issue of concern.

I believe that a college isn't just known by the quality of brains that dwell in the walled campuses that contain them. Many more factors come into play. One such parameter could be cultural diversity, that is more apparent in the NITs than the IITs. And the credit goes to state-wise doling of seats. It results in a unique learning experience.

Then, there's this abiding issue of regions with coaching hubs eating up the major chunk of the other 50% pie! There be no need denying that coaching would help students from particular regions gain an advantage. No two opinions! Some of the states/regions which would then hold monopoly over the seats might be UP, AP, Bihar, Rajasthan, MP and Delhi, to name a few.

The positives however, are many.

Since ragging is a state-wise affair, that sure will slump, as the oft-emphasized state-funda would go to the dogs. Pure merit instead of state-quota, would auger well for the academic quality of the NITs. Most importantly, deserving students from regions where competition is fierce, would find their plight a lot better than their seniors.

We can just hope that the positives weigh over the negatives, and MHRD has been wise with this decision.