T’puram: The state cabinet on Friday approved changes in the preparation of entrance results for admission to engineering courses in Kerala. The decision to adopt a new method for normalizing and standardizing the marks obtained by candidates in their qualifying exams will help the govt announce KEAM entrance rank list by next week.Govt sources said the new method, similar to the one used by the govt of Tamil Nadu, aims to protect the interests of students from the state syllabus. They added that state syllabus students in Kerala had complained of discrimination during the standardization process, which brings Plus Two marks from various boards to a common metric. It was alleged that candidates were losing 20 to 30 marks during this process. KEAM entrance gives equal weightage to entrance exam scores and marks in mathematics, physics and chemistry.Under the new formula cleared by the state cabinet, the marks obtained by candidates in these three subjects in Plus Two exams will now be given weightage in the ratio of 5:3:2. This means mathematics will carry 150 marks, physics 90 and chemistry 60, totalling 300 marks, the same as before. Previously, all three subjects were weighted equally.The new formula also does away with the internationally-recognized method that uses statistical parameters like global mean and global standard deviation to standardize marks across different boards. Instead, the marks (out of 100) obtained by students in the relevant subjects in the qualifying exams conducted by various boards will be equated with the marks obtained by students of the Kerala board after the normalization of marks.“If the maximum mark secured by state board students in Kerala in maths this year is 100/100 and the highest mark secured by a student of any other board in the same subject is 95/100, both marks will be considered equal to 100/100. If a student of the other board secures 70/100 in maths when the highest mark secured in the subject in the same board is 95/100, 70/100 marks will be considered to be equal to 73.68/100 marks,” as per the new formula.
