IIT admissions: Class-12 marks criteria relaxed for students clearing JEE-Advanced
This year, the Class-12 percentage criteria for securing admissions to the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) will be relaxed for students qualifying the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advanced. In order to be eligible for admissions to the IITs, a minimum of 75% score in Class-12 board exams will no longer be required for candidates who clear the JEE-Advanced. Here are more details.
Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Ramesh Pokhriyal, took to Twitter to make the announcement regarding the relaxation of Class-12 marks criteria for the IIT admissions. He said that the decision has been taken in view of the partial cancelation of the Class-12 and equivalent examinations by a number of education boards in the country, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
To be eligible for securing admissions to the IITs, candidates who cleared the JEE-Advanced were previously required to either have a score of at least 75% in their Class-12 board exams or be among the top 20 percentile in the qualifying examinations, Pokhriyal said on Twitter. However, this year, this Class-12 percentage-linked eligibility criterion has been dropped for IIT admissions.
"Due to the partial cancelation of Class XII exams by several Boards, Joint Admission Board (JAB) has decided to relax the eligibility criterion for JEE (Advanced) 2020 qualified candidates this time," Pokhriyal tweeted. "Qualified candidates who have passed Class XII examinations will now be eligible for admissions irrespective of marks obtained," the minister said in another tweet.
Due to the partial cancellation of class XII exams by several Boards, Joint Admission Board (JAB) has decided to relax the eligibility criterion for #JEE (Advanced) 2020 qualified candidates this time. @HRDMinistry @PIB_India @MIB_India @DDNewslive
— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) July 17, 2020
This year, the JEE-Advanced is scheduled to be conducted on September 27 after being postponed twice. The entrance exam was initially supposed to be held on May 17 but was then postponed to August 23 and later deferred until September due to the coronavirus outbreak.
JEE-Advanced is the second-phase exam of the Joint Entrance Examination, while the first is JEE-Main. JEE-Main, conducted twice a year by the National Testing Agency, is for admission to NITs, IIITs, and other GFTIs. It also serves as a screening test for JEE-Advanced. JEE-Advanced is the only gateway for IIT admissions. It's conducted by one of the seven old IITs on a rotational basis.
