New Delhi: A committee consisting of three National Institutes of Technology (NIT) Directors has been constituted to look into the current system of conducting the All India Engineering Entrance Exam (AIEEE).

The Committee will look at the possibility of making the exam online in addition to the regular pen and paper test being conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) at present.

The decision of constituting the Committee was taken during the first meeting of the NITs Council held here today under the Chairmanship of Union Minister for Human Resource Development (HRD), Mr. Kapil Sibal.

The Committee will also look into the structure of the entrance exam and as to whether weightage could be given to Class XII Exam results as Directors of the NITs were of the view that the proliferation of coaching institutes was skewing the pattern of entrants into the NITs.

The Committee consisting of the Directors of NITs Allahabad, Calicut and Agartala will submit its report by January and will also look at the problem of seats across NITs staying vacant despite a number of rounds of counseling - whether certain courses are not market friendly and are thus not drawing students - the Committee could recommend alternate courses etc.

During the meeting a decision was also taken to constitute a Committee to look into curriculum framework, i.e. revising the curriculum, looking at the current needs of the of the country, industry and the market and also design the curriculum looking at future needs of the country.

The Committee consisting of the Directors of NITs Trichy, Surathkal, and Warangal will also interact with industry organizations to know their requirements so that the students have the best possible job prospects.

Kapil Sibal also asked all the 20 NITs to give a vision statement which would be discussed in the next meeting of the NITs Council.

He also asked the NITs to show, in their vision statements, how they could build their brand image to attract talent from within the country and abroad. The vision could also include whether they would like to set up campuses abroad.

The Minister also underlined that the meetings of the Council would be held every six months. The Minister pointed out that with high growth in the country and the booming middle class, enormous requirement for professional courses, graduate programmes will be generated.

The Vision document thus should show how the NITs propose to expand. He also exhorted the NITs to charter a unique eco- system for themselves and also pay emphasis towards greater research and Doctoral, Post Doctoral work.

The Minister agreed to the NITs request that for the hiring of faculty, in case of exceptional circumstances, hiring can be of an individual at a higher grade pay with the approval of the Board of Governors of the NITs. Norms will have to be formulated by the NITs on when such exceptions can be made.

The Council also unanimously approved the setting up of a standing committee to go into the nitty-gritty of various proposals and suggestions that are received.

The Council authorized the Chairman and the Vice-chairman to constitute this committee.

Secretary, Higher Education, R.P. Agrawal welcomed the members of the IIT Council.

Informing them that all NITs would be provided with 1 Gbps of connectivity shortly, he asked them to use this to full extent. He also told the NIT Directors that the Performance Related Incentive System (PRIS) would be applicable in the NITs.

N.K. Sinha, Joint Secretary, Department of Higher Education, besides Chairmen, Board of Governors of NITs; Directors of the NITs, Chaiman, UGC among other members of the Council were present at the meeting.