IITs ask students not to reveal JEE rank for campus placements. There's a quota angle
For decades, a JEE rank was more than just a number for IIT students. It was a badge of honour earned after years of preparation
For decades, a JEE rank was more than just a number for IIT students. It was a badge of honour earned after years of preparation and fierce competition. But that chapter might now end at the gates of the IITs. In what is being seen as a major policy shift, the All IITs Placement Committee (AIPC) has directed students across all 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to remove JEE ranks, GATE scores, percentiles and similar entrance examination credentials from resumes for campus placements for jobs. This has resulted in an intense debate. Read Full Story The decision was taken unanimously during a meeting of the AIPC, the body of 23 IITs which coordinates and issues common guidelines on internship and placement drives across all premier engineering institutes of India, reported The Times of India. In a communication to students, the Career Development Centre (CDC) said that, in line with guidelines issued by the AIPC, they should not include "JEE Rank, GATE Rank, marks, scores, percentile, or similar examination ranking details" in their resumes or CVs. The letter, shared by a few people on social media, said all IITs were expected to follow the rule "to maintain uniformity" from the upcoming placement and internship cycle and asked students to treat it as an "important compliance requirement" before submitting resumes for recruitment activities.
So, what's behind the move, which has triggered polarised reactions? The move to keep the JEE rank and GATE score off the resumes is an attempt to prevent discrimination by recruiters against students who have made it to an IIT through reserved seats for weaker communities. John Jose, convenor of the AIPC, told The Times of India that the objective was to ensure students are evaluated on their "competence, skills and achievements at IIT" rather than on an entrance exam score. "The distinction is an important one. An entrance examination captures a moment in time. A degree reflects years of work that follow. The objective is that students should be evaluated on their competence, skills and achievements at IIT. What will disappear is the score that opened the gate," Jose told The Times of India. While some have asked, "Why should hard-earned achievements be hidden?" Others have welcomed it as a "good step towards building an inclusive and harmonious campus and society." WHY IITS ARE ASKING STUDENTS TO REMOVE JEE RANKS, GATE SCORES FROM CVs According to AIPC convenor John Jose, the decision emerged from concerns that recruiters could sometimes identify whether a candidate belonged to the general or reserved category by comparing entrance ranks with the opening and closing ranks of specific IIT programmes. Under the revised guidelines, students can continue to showcase their Cumulative Performance Index (CPI), academic achievements, projects, internships, research work, leadership roles and other accomplishments earned during their time at IIT.
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