Critics of the entrance exam for India’s top engineering colleges say it measures neither interest nor aptitude of students. They are now calling for an overhaul.
What’s common between Vavilala Reddy, R.K. Shishir and Mridul Agarwal, aside from the fact that they were toppers in the Joint Entrance Exam for the Indian Institutes of Technology in 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively?
All three spent years preparing for the JEE, putting in up to 14 hours a day. And, all three chose to study computer science engineering, or CSE, from IIT Bombay.
The CSE course at IIT Bombay attracts some of the highest scorers in the JEE. And why shouldn’t it? It is a flagship programme of the IITs, India’s premier engineering institutes. CSE graduates also snag …
Omkar specializes in long-form narrative features and has reported from India, the UK, Germany and the Maldives. He writes across beats, from politics and crime to cinema and sports. His works have been published in Indian and international outlets including The Caravan, Mint Lounge, the BBC, Al Jazeera and The Huffington Post.
Senior Features Writer
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Delhi