The news of setting up of more IITs has also brought the discussion about IIT-JEE (Indian Institutes of Technology-Joint Entrance Examination) in the forefront. With over four decades of its existence, the exam has attracted critics as well as admirers.

Why was JEE introduced?

Many assume JEE as being associated with IITs right from the beginning, which is not true. According to Bhamy Shenoy, a noted writer and 1962 alumnus of IIT-Madras, from 1951 (when the first batch joined IIT Kharagpur) till 1962, the admission to the IITs was based solely on the PUC (Pre-University College or 11 + 1 standard) marks. The admission was equally distributed among the five zones (north, east, west, south and central) of the country. Many of the admitted students were rank holders of their respective universities.

During 1958 to 1962, four more IITs were established at Bombay, Madras, Delhi and Kanpur. The need was felt for a centralized entrance exam system to meet the challenging requirement for IITs. First, the quality, level of education and curriculum was uneven among different universities. This resulted in some of the students having trouble of understanding the lectures by Indian and foreign faculty at IITs.

Moreover, the IITs had introduced new complex engineering disciplines such as aeronautical, naval architecture, electronics, etc. These subjects were being taught by faculty from overseas. It was planned to replace the foreign faculty by training the bright students. The idea was to admit bright students with a strong grasping power through a competitive entrance exam send them abroad for further study and hire them back as the faculty in the department. Thus the birth of Entrance Exam took place. The plan was largely successful, as many of the alumni returned to their departments and contributed to their alma-mater.