Friday, August 26, 2011
GATE eligibility
There seems to a sudden change in the eligibility for GATE 2012. Apparently, prefinal students are not allowed to write the exam. I am not sure about the rationale behind the decision and it may be just to reduce the number of students taking the exam. In any case, I feel such sudden changes in the eligibility criteria should be informed to the candidates before an year or so.
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Yes, I don't understand the rationale behind this change. It was okay, when percentile scores were being reported. Because the number of students appearing increases, it affects the percentile. But now, they are reporting GATE scores, which are not affected by the number of persons attempting the exam. Moreover, GATE is now completely objective and the answer sheets are graded by a optical mark reader and computer, so where is the manual pain for professors to grade these answer sheets?
It may be a type!!?
The problem is not in grading the answer sheets but sending people for exams.
For example, there are roughly 30,000 students writing the exam in Hyderabad. That means there are 40 centers. So, we have to send 80 faculty for supervision from IISc. That's why, the exam was split into forenoon and afternoon such that the number of centers reduce by half.
But I do feel that prefinal students should be allowed to write the exam.
As I have said earlier in a private email to Dr. Giri, this is both shocking and frightening. I am a prefinal student and preparation for gate had taken over my life for the past 3 months or so. I joined classes and sacrificed ever single weekend for 3 months. This was like telling me "Sorry dude, we do not care about all that". So the IISc/IITs have to send faculties to every center and they are understaffed for this. Seems like a rational decision to decrease the no. of students. BUT WHY COULDN'T THEY JUST DO A PRESS RELEASE AT LEAST SIX MONTHS PRIOR? I can't believe that it was a spur of the moment decision. There are so many pre final year students who are going through the same feeling as I am going through. I do not understand why did they not take into account all this?
No, it is not a rational decision even if there is no staff. We can hold exams over Saturday and Sunday i.e., some papers on Saturday morning, Sat evening, Sun morn, Sun evening.
I talked to someone in GATE and they told me when previously they had changed the validity of score card to one year, there was no protests and everyone agreed to this. So, this is essentially going back to the same step but with two year validity of the score card.
"I talked to someone in GATE and they told me when previously they had changed the validity of score card to one year, there was no protests and everyone agreed to this. So, this is essentially going back to the same step but with two year validity of the score card."
I don't know when it was changed to one year validity, but this is crazy. Such major decisions should be made in public so students like us can know about this and not waste our time. I could have invested all that time on my projects.
It saddens me that not a single major paper has put this thing on their front page. I bet if it was CAT or UPSC they would have milked it as hell. Don't know why our media does not glamorize STEM as they glamorize management
In GATE-2009, the score was valid only for one year.
Even now, students in prefinal year (graduating in 2013) will write GATE-2012. Let us say, they qualify (though they are not eligible) and then apply for admission in 2013, I do not know whether the institutions that admit them will check whether the year of GATE is same or later than the year of graduation.
Either GATE should have a one year validity or allow prefinal year students to write it.
Now I am confused. Does that mean I can write gate 2012 but its a matter of chance that I will be admitted or not? But if I am not eligible wouldn't my form be just rejected?
BTW sir do you know why IISc admission site[1] has just stopped working? I wanted to check if I am eligible for the entrance exam IISc takes. I want to get into MS(eng) in SERC and they do admit students from that test. I just want to confirm.
The admissions site for IISc has been closed. MSc(Engg) is based on GATE and not on IISc entrance exams. IISc entrance exams are not held in engineering subjects.
Regarding GATE, technically, you are not eligible to write GATE - 2012 if you are qualifying in 2013. But candidates can still fill up the wrong information and write the exam. Is it now the responsibility of the admitting institute to check the qualifying year and the GATE exam qualification? In any case, I know that many will write the exam just to get a feel of the exam and get an idea of where they will stand even though they will not use the score for admission.
Here is a counter point. What use is the GATE score when taken by the pre-final year student? The primary purpose of GATE is for PG admissions and scholarships, so why the one year advance writing? You cant use it till you finish your degree, anyways. Everyone gets a chance to write during the final year. If you want a second chance, do it one year after graduation. A good fraction of the growth in test takers is seen to be these early takers, so the expectation is that the number of test takers will reduce to more manageable numbers with this rule. Pre-final year students writing GATE is a distortion; they would generally not have completed sufficient courses to satisfactorily attempt all questions on the paper. In fact, at a recent syllabus / curriculum committee meeting I attended at Anna University, the student representatives were pleading for some re-arrangement of courses so that they could attempt a larger fraction of questions on GATE!
@vinay's statement about number of students appearing affecting percentile but not standardized score is incorrect. There is approximately one to one correspondence between percentile and standardized score. Unless one makes some assumptions about the raw scores (actual test marks) of the additional candidates, it is not possible to predict what the additional candidates will do to the percentiles or standardized scores. Perhaps, the most meaningful assumption is that the additional candidates will have the same kind of marks distribution as the 'original' test takers - in which case the additional candidates will have no effect on the percentile or standardized scores but will affect only the absolute rank for a given mark.
@Paresh Mathur's comment about six months advance notice - it is approximately six months before the test date now, no? And for those affected, it is almost two years before the scores are to be used. That sounds like reasonable advance notice to me. But yes, there is a an appearance of it being done somewhat quietly. To be fair, the GATE website has a very prominent banner which proclaims this change.
@giri on August 27, 2011 11:01 AM
Got dammit, I think I saw the IISc rank in the cut offs. Maybe I am remembering wrong. I do not have a good memory anyway. About GATE, doesn't forging details on a indian government prescribed form amount to some sort of crime? It would be wrong anyway.
@iitmsriram, http://blog.lifeasparesh.in/2011/08/gate-eligibility-change.html. Try not to take it personally, okey? :)
Paresh,
Prof. Giri is saying that the student will fill up the qualifying year of his B.Tech as 2012 and write GATE-2012 even though he is graduating in 2013. Even if he qualifies, he is not eligible and he is not going to use the score. How will you find you have given the wrong information in the GATE form if you are not using that score at all? It is wrong to give incorrect information but how will GATE penalize such a candidate if he is not going to use that score?
iitmsriram,
you make good points. But then, as Prof. Giri says, why should the score be valid for two years? Let it will be valid for only one year. Are you trying to target candidates who qualify GATE in their final year, take up a job elsewhere for a year and then come back to studies?
Vipul.
"How will you find you have given the wrong information in the GATE form if you are not using that score at all? It is wrong to give incorrect information but how will GATE penalize such a candidate if he is not going to use that score?"
Well if they maintain a record of all the students who wrote GATE 2012 and cross verify when admitting them (in 2013) - then they will catch all pre-final year students since your form/record in both 2012 and 2013 will indicate that you just finished 4th year.
But i wonder if they do that
@anon above me.
I would have to submit zeroxes of my certificates right? Or not?
The certificates that you must submit are:
copy of the degree certificate(if have already passed) or a certificate from your college principal (for final year students)
Other certificates like SC/ST etc apply as usual.
you do not need to submit a certificate to write GATE.
One year intense training and sacrifice of weekends hav now become no use . Why not they would hav announced it earlier?
@pradeep
I feel you man.
Prof.Giri . . . Is this change of eligibility is an official one or will there be any change will come soon ?
The change should be informed atleast one year ago. Students start preparation from june and in mid of their preparation they have to change their plans.We want to know, what is going on from last three years.
1.In 2009 they reduced the validity of GATE score card from two years to one year, but allowed prefinal year student to appear in it.
2.In 2010& 11 validity again seted as two year and pre final year students were also allowed.
3. Now in 2012 prefinal year students are not allowed.
It is totally wrong to say there was no protest in 2009. I was in III year of my engineering and preparing for GATE and planned to dedicate one year to project and summer training, rule was changed without any prior notice. I was stunned, I talked to IIT roorkee GATE office( organizing institute) and one IIT professor, whom i know, " why are you allowing us to appear in exam, when the validity of score card is only one year." he just answered "it is a mock test for you." I had to change all my plan completely.
After two year we will give same logic, that in 2012 there was no protest, thats why we are changing the rules. It is not fair.
hi everyone,
am a 3rd year student and i have been preparing for GATE for about 4 months now . I felt shocked when i heard about the change in eligibity. I PROTEST . I am going for GATE coaching classes every weekend for the last 4 months. My plan was to give my best this time and concentrate next year on my project and other things. But now everything is ruined.
@sriram : You wont understand the pain and trouble caused to us by a sudden change of rules.
I still cant just digest this. I PROTEST..
I appeared for GATE-2011 i.e. when I was in my prefinal year & was successful in securing a decent rank that would make me eligible for interview round in almost all Old IITs. Good number of my friends secured decent ranks. Success of our Batch inspired our juniors to make a shift from traditional GRE preparation and considering GATE as a serious option (In my locality it is a tradition that entire strength of considerably good academic performers leave for MS).
When GATE Eligibility Criteria stated that prefinal year students are not eligible, our juniors yelled at us “you guys were Eligible we are not… this is injustice” We couldn’t give them any answer other than a helpless smile. Now they prefer to forget about GATE and start with GRE preparation.
Securing GATE rank in 3rd year gives enormous confidence and it’s of much help in attaining Interns and one can state it in their resume for campus placements as an achievement. Application for TIFR’s VSRP i.e. intended for prefinal year vacation asks for GATE score (*if any). Sudden change in Eligibility criteria shattered all these dreams and filled their minds with frustration and anger.
I wish I could advice them to take Prof. Giridhar’s advice and make an attempt. GATE Organizers turn out to be Smart. Application Criteria States that Letter from College Principal is mandatory, which is Tough to manage.
Wish that similar to 1 Year Validity Criteria this decision would be recalled.
-Bobby.
There is no use in protesting in a blog. When the GATE committee that there is no protest, what it means is that there is no court case.
Some one should file a RTI asking for this information and then a court case against this decision.
They are spoiling the whole motto of GATE. Who needs the score for two years if one takes GATE in the final year. Cant they manage to conduct an exam. Pity and just for not able to manage they change the rules as they needed. Not fair at all....
iits/iisc are over hyped institutions and many a time callous decisions are taken by the people in charge at the expense of the students.
it's about time outsiders realize this. i would advice the juniors to consider MS/PhD abroad as a better option unless the indian institutes mend their ways and start doing some honest and high quality research while also looking at the fact that students are good researchers and not some robots to be ordered around to.
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