Students Qualifying Olympiads Could Directly get Entry to IITs, JEE Advanced not Needed

Students qualifying for international olympiads could get direct admission to IITs without cracking the JEE Advanced entrance test. The IIT Kanpur is reportedly considering offering admissions to students who have participated in internationally renowned olympiads directly based on their performance in the competition.

Students who crack international olympiads go through rigorous preparation and selection processes, however, most often these students end up studying abroad. The IIT Kanpur is planning to retain this talent in India by offering them an alternative mode of admission.

Students qualifying for Olympiads can apply to the department of their specialised subjects, however, the decision making bodies of different departments of the IIT are yet to give their nod to the decision.

The IIT has introduced an alternative mechanism based on principal agreement and there is no guarantee regarding admission of these candidates, yet, said Nitin Saxena, chairperson of undergraduate academic programme review committee at IIT Kanpur. In an interview with a leading daily Saxena said, numerous measures will be put into place to ensure that only the most qualified candidates get entry into the institute through this route.

In 2018, IIT-Bombay too had allowed candidates qualifying for the international mathematics olympiad to be eligible to apply for the BSc mathematics course. The IIT had earmarked sic seats to be offered under this route.

Olympiads are niche tests that assess students based on different in-depth knowledge in a particular subject, however, in JEE Advanced students have to answer questions on all three subjects – mathematics, chemistry, physics. Every year, the top 2.5 lakh rank holders of JEE Main results are eligible to apply for JEE Advanced. For olympiads, however, only a limited few apply.

Apart from JEE Advanced, students can also study at IITs by cracking GATE, CAT, CSIR NET, JAM, HSCEE, AAT among other entrances. IITs have also started offering degrees and certificates via online courses.

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