Very soon, students seeking admission in engineering and medical examination will appear for single entrance exam. In order to reduce the multiplicity of entrance examinations for admission to higher education, HRD minister Kapil Sibal on Friday said that the ministry is considering merging the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) and the All India Engineering Entrance Exam (AIEEE), both conducted by the CBSE, by the academic session 2011-12.

"We are trying to prepare a system under which students will not have to appear in exam after exam after class 12th to seek admission for higher education," he said. Sibal said that state education ministers have welcomed this proposal.

This will help students immensely as Physics and Chemistry will be common for both and the medical student can answer only the Biology paper and the engineering students the Math paper.

Addressing the states' education ministers Conference, Sibal said that the ministry is also mulling  a single common exam after class XII that will test general awareness and aptitude of the child. For entrance to various higher educational institutions, combination of class XII marks and the result of this test could be the criteria. He said this will give an opportunity to children from economically weaker sections who are not able to avail coaching and get through the current system of entrance exams.

Sibal also announced the ministry’s agenda for the year 2010-11, which includes setting up of National Institute of for Assessment and Evaluation for the school systems and their syllabi. This will serve as an advisory institution to school boards and can evaluate curriculum and education standards at schools in different states and suggest measures to improve them.

Sibal also informed that the Council of Boards of School Education (COBSE), which has already prepared a core curriculum in Science and Mathematics, had a dialogue with the school boards and is now preparing a core curriculum in Commerce.

Also, the ministry has proposed to start National Educational Finance Corporation to provide easy educational loans to students for higher education from banks and financial institutions. It will also finance the infrastructural requirements of educational institutions directly as well as through refinance facilities

Sibal stressed on having curriculum framework for giving value education to children so that they become responsible citizens of the country. He added that the physical education programme should be mandatory at school level. Minister said that they have asked states to join hands in implementing the various projects.