NIRMA University has made the All Indian Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE) mandatory for students seeking admission to its engineering courses. The institute has announced that henceforth students will not be admitted through the Gujarat Combined Entrance Test (GUJCET) conducted by Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB).

Previously, the university filled up 75 per cent of the seats with candidates qualifying GUJCET and the remainder through AIEEE. There are a total of 600 engineering seats in Nirma University.

But there is a silver lining for the students of Gujarat. The university has decided to reserve 75 per cent of the seats for students within the geographical boundaries of Gujarat, but they need to qualify AIEEE for admission to its engineering courses.

“This will ensure that local students do not lose out to others and also maintain the previous ratio of 75 per cent from the state and 25 per cent from outside,” said Nirma University Vice-Chancellor R R Vasani.

He said the number of students appearing in AIEEE from Gujarat has gone up manifold and a large number of them cleared the test, which indicated a culture of competitiveness developing among the students.

“So, we can fill up the seats through AIEEE. Besides, Nirma University’s decision will motivate Gujarati students to pay more attention to national-level competitive exams and perform better,” he said.

He added that before Nirma University came into existence, hardly one or two students from Gujarat qualified for the IIM entrance exam. But now at four or five students from Gujarat, some from Nirma University get admission to IIMs annually.

Asked if admitting students through AIEEE will improve Nirma’s ranking among the top engineering institutes in the country, he said he will welcome it if it so happened.

Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology, Deen Dayal Petroleum University and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Institute of Technology are the other educational institutes in Gujarat where admission is through AIEEE.