SRMJEEE 2021: Interview with Dr. Sandeep Sancheti, Vice Chancellor, SRM University

COVID-19 has impacted the whole world. Indian education system has not been an exception to the impact. Engineering entrance exam 2021 dates are now being announced for this year. One of the popular entrance exams is SRMJEEE. With massive changes announced in the syllabus, exam patterns for class 12 board exams, Careers360 caught up with Dr. Sandeep Sancheti, Vice Chancellor, SRM Institute of Science and Technology to know more about changes in the entrance exam. The process to fill SRMJEEE application form 2021 is already ongoing. Read on to know all about SRMJEEE 2021 exam dates, pattern, syllabus reduction and more.

Careers360 - When is the SRMJEEE 2021 exam scheduled?
Dr. Sancheti - SRMJEEE 2021 will be held anytime between third to last week of June. As CBSE board examinations will conclude by June 10 and JEE Advanced is scheduled on July 3, SRMJEEE will be scheduled as always amidst the two exam dates. However, with the current uncertainties due to COVID-19, things may change depending upon the situation.We will take a call then.For now, SRMJEEE will be held as scheduled.

Careers360 - What is the weightage given to SRMJEEE/ JEE Main and SAT for admissions?
Dr. Sancheti - For Indian candidates, SRMJEEE is the only route for B.Tech admissions and also the SRM scholarships are linked with these ranks. For seats that remain vacant after admissions through SRMJEEE 2021, preference will be given to JEE Main candidates upto certain ranks. Last but not the least shall come the SAT scores for engineering admissions. For engineering admissions at SRM, SAT scores are mainly considered for admissions to NRI or foreign candidates. It should be noted that the top 1000 rank holders of JEE Main are given direct admission at SRM University.

Watch the interview with Dr. Sandeep Sancheti, Vice Chancellor, SRM University

Careers360 - Will class 12 marks be given weightage if the SRMJEEE 2021 is put on hold like the 2020 session?
Dr. Sancheti - For a backup, every aspect is kept open as we have seen the unforeseen in the previous year. Considering class 12 marks as an exclusive mechanism will not be there in the plan unless the situation forces us. The reason being that declaration of board results is not certain and also some of the boards do not share the details of marks to be used for normalization. Although in the 2020 session, class 12 marks were accepted for SRM IST admissions, we are not in favour of it for the reasons mentioned. In the worst case, we may consider class 12 marks that may result in delay in admissions just like the previous year. However, with the vaccines rolling out and things turning out positive, it is very likely that conducting SRMJEEE will not be an issue.

Careers360 - With class board syllabus reduction by CBSE and most state boards, will the SRMJEEE syllabus be tailored accordingly?
Dr. Sancheti - It is a necessity as the SRMJEEE 2021 examination is based on the topics covered upto class 12 only. SRMIST has already followed the guidelines and SRMJEEE 2021 syllabus has already been reduced by 30% which will be available to the public through the official website.

Careers360 - Will the SRMJEEE exam 2021 be held online in exam centres or will it be home proctored?
Dr. Sancheti - Talking about the home proctored mode of examination, that is not an option because the exam has to be conducted in one go. It is a fact that not every candidate has the required gadgets and better connectivity of the Internet and therefore home proctored exams will be a bigger risk. Also, proctored examinations can not prove fairness like the regular ones. It is also more challenging to conduct a home proctored exam. SRMJEEE 2021 will be conducted at the designated exam centres. SRMIST will try to accommodate more number of SRMJEEE exam centres in the 2021 session. It will depend upon the number of applicants in a particular area but if things improve, it will not be difficult for candidates to travel for a distance as well.

Careers360 - Will SRMJEEE allow more than one attempt?
Dr. Sancheti - For SRMJEEE 2021, giving more attempts will not be of much use as the exam is conducted consecutively for 4 or 5 days. But if students think that they need another attempt, we may allow more than 1 attempt.

Careers360 - How will online classes impact admissions for this year?
Dr. Sancheti - The modus operandi has changed for schools but that should not have an impact on the level or depth of knowledge. We expect students to know the class 12 topics that are part of the syllabus. While 30% syllabus reduction has been considered, there is no excuse not to know or learn the remaining topics that form the other 70%. Changes are a part of life. We accept that there is a slight difference between online and offline mode. However I believe that the depth of knowledge which the students can achieve is far more accessible in online mode provided they are interested and we seek such students. One should not depend upon the classroom because teaching is a tiny concept while learning is huge and students should strive to perform better even with the changed circumstances.

Careers360 - How have the placements been this season? Please give details
Dr. Sancheti - I can not say about the national scenario but here at SRM University, COVID-19 has not affected the placements in any way. It may be a slow start but we have had more than 5000 offers for placement at SRM by now and there are still 4 months to go. Last year we reached 8,600 placement offers. One factor that may play a difference in the numbers is that last year around 17000 students graduated; however, this year 15000 students will be graduating in the current batch.

SRMJEEE 2021 Participating Institutes

1. SRMIST at Kattankulathur, Ramapuram, Vadapalani

2. SRM University AP

3. SRM University Sikkim

4. SRM University Sonepat

5. SRM University Ghaziabad