Several B Arch students raised objections against the change in eligibility criteria by the Council of Architecture (CoA), especially, since many have scored well in JEE
From 5,567 registrations for B Arch course in 2020, the number stands at 3,465 this year. Students have blamed this decrease in demand on the recent decision by the Council of Architecture (CoA) regarding the eligibility criteria. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
The pre-admission registrations for several technical courses including Bachelor of Architecture (B Arch) ended recently and figures revealed by the state common entrance test (CET) cell shows registrations for the course has dipped by almost 38% this year.
From 5,567 registrations in 2020, the number stands at 3,465 this year. Students have blamed this decrease in demand on the recent decision by the Council of Architecture (CoA) to only accept the National Aptitude Test in Architecture (NATA) as opposed to Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) scores, which was also acceptable until last year.
Several students raised objections to this change in the ruling, especially, since many have scored well in JEE. However, due to the change in eligibility criteria, many B Arch aspirants are opting to appear for NATA once again in 2022 and apply for admissions next year.
“Most students appeared for JEE and NATA, and while everyone scored well in JEE, most found the first two sessions of NATA very tough. In a year when students have already gone through too much, the last thing they needed was a change in eligibility criteria. These students have slogged at least two years preparing for the entrance exam and now it’s of no use,” said the mother of a B Arch aspirant.
Until the 2020-21 academic year, B Arch aspirants were allowed to register using either their JEE-Mains or the NATA score. However, this year, following a notification from the CoA, it has been clarified that JEE scores will only be accepted for admissions to IITs, NITs and central universities, whereas all other universities/institutes will accept the NATA score only.
This year, both JEE and NATA exams were held in multiple sessions, mainly to give students the option of choosing the best score out of the multiple sessions, and at the same time, also giving students the option of a backup session, in case they missed the previous session due to Covid-related issues.
Many B Arch aspirants have now decided to appear for NATA exam in 2022 and apply for admissions for the next academic year.
“My daughter appeared for the first two sessions of NATA as well as two
sessions of JEE. While she has scored 98 percentile in JEE, her NATA
score is low, and until now she was not worried because we were under
the impression that the JEE score will be applicable. Because of this
change in eligibility criteria, my daughter will either lose a seat in a
college of her choice or lose the entire year and try again next year,”
said the father of another aspirant.
Published on Nov 24, 2021 08:11 PM IST Shreya Bhandary, Mumbai
