All IITs have unanimously rejected a government-backed proposal to radically ‘reform’ the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advanced at the IIT Council meeting held in New Delhi today.The IITs held that the IIT system and the JEE had been built into a formidable brand over the years and any ‘tinkering’ with it was not desirable as the current format has been operating smoothly.The JEE Advanced determines admission to all IITs and is considered one of the toughest entrance examinations in the country.ET has learnt that IIT Directors and Chairpersons underlined at the meeting that the aim should be to strengthen the current system rather than move in a direction that could undermine the credibility of the IITs and the JEE in any way.The IIT council rejected both ideas on the tables mooted by the Human Resources Development (HRD) ministry- to set up an expert committee to make the JEE Advanced ’more scientific’ and to ‘reduce dependence on coaching centres’ and to change allocation system of selected students- from branch of engineering to institution wise allocation.The first and more radical idea for revamping IIT education was based on a proposal that sought dismantling of the JEE Advanced exam, doing away with the flagship B Tech courses at IITs and converting IITs into high end institutes that offer post graduate education and only certain semesters of teaching to near 80,000 students a year instead of the current 10,000 plus.The IITs opined that a change had already been brought in the JEE system by going online and further improvement in questions could be attempted rather than radical reforms, sources told ET.The IIT Council is headed by the HRD minister- Prakash Javadekar. The ministry finally went with the IIT view as it felt that the need for reform must be driven by the institutions and when they feel the need or them.The IIT Council also agreed to a key demand by the IITs to relax fee for foreign studentS which currently stands at Rs 6 lakh per annum and is viewed as steep by many. The Council has now allowed each IiT’s Board of Governors to decide on fee for foreign students.