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HRD ministry has shelved its plan to reform the Joint Entrance Examination by introducing an aptitude test that would filter students for a single entrance test for admission to IITs/NITs and engineering institutions.

Government had to drop the idea after HRD's department of school pointed out that an aptitude test might not find favour with students from rural and semi-urban backgrounds. "We were told that the aptitude test will go against the principle of equity in education. Students belonging to marginal classes would suffer," an official said.

The ministry also tried to convince IITs to conduct a single entrance test without the aptitude test but they refused. "IITs do not want to conduct the single test, in which more than 12 lakh students appear. They wanted to conduct something like JEE (advanced) in which fewer students appear after clearing JEE (main)," the source said.

Idea of having a National Authority for Testing also has been put on hold. One IIT director said, "It is a misconception that students from rural background would have lagged behind in aptitude test. They are not so good in language but superior to urban students." "It is unfortunate that it has been shelved even without trying once.

The new system proposed to create a National Authority for Testing that would have conducted an aptitude test to shortlist 4 lakh students who would have appeared for JEE. From JEE, ranks were to be issued to 40,000-plus students who could get admission in IITs and NITs.