Since last few days, a news about passing the GATE exam on a
compulsory basis is floating not only on social media but has been published in
major newspapers as well. This has caused a great panic among the students as
studying engineering is a challenge in itself and now just the thought of
writing an exit exam to get their degree in hands is just unfair, no matter how
any higher authority justifies it. Luckily, the new floating around is simply a
fake and the purpose of the news is just to create an atmosphere of tension
among the students and to agitate them and force them on streets for protests
and rallies.
The HOAX
According to the news, all the students of the engineering streams are required to write a mandatory exit exam and pass it to get their engineering degrees in hand. The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) is taking necessary steps to improve the outcome of the engineering education and therefore has made the test necessary to test the knowledge gained by the students during their four years of education.
The News includes that the decision was taken at a meeting held at New Delhi in order to control the number of unemployed engineers which are being produced by the colleges every year. Students who are currently pursuing their engineering will have to write the GATE exam and those who already have their engineering degrees will be required to appear for the GATE exam.
“The degree certificate will be awarded to students only after they clear the exit examination,” said an official source at AICTE.
Prof Jagannath Reddy, Registrar of Visvesvaraya Technological University, said, “We have yet to receive a communication about it. Once we are notified, an official circular at the university level will be issued.”
AICTE has received mixed reviews from the teachers’ committee on the new decision and students community is angry over the new decision as for them it is a whole new level of hard work which they will have to deal with alongside the immense pressure of engineering studies. “If someone does not get employed even after completing the course then it an individual problem and not a general one. I don’t understand why the AICTE is generalizing this,” questions a student.
“This is really a good move and I hope this will increase the chances
of engineering graduates getting employment,” said a principal of a private
engineering college in the city.
Dr. Manjunatha B, Principal of New Horizon College of Engineering, said, “It depends on individual skill and instead of conducting an exit exam, it is better for colleges to conduct an aptitude test, a technology test or communication skills test at least once each semester.”
FACT CHECK : FAKE
Clarifications
Despite the news going viral and being published by the newspaper has no substance in it as it has been clarified by the AICTE that the body has taken no such decision and the news are just rumors. The notice was issued by the Prof. M.P. Poonia, vice-chairman of AICTE. The notice was issued in the interest of all the stakeholders including the students. Below is the image of the original notification posted by the AICTE on their website.
Now that it has been officially confirmed by the AICTE that they have not placed any such criteria on the engineering degrees, students can go ahead and concentrate on their studies and exams as usual.