Education Ministry to relax eligibility criteria for IIT JEE Mains, IIT JEE Advanced exams 

The top twenty percentile students in each board will now be eligible for admission in IIT and NIT engineering institutions, even if their score is below the 75 per cent mark in the 12th board exams.

The Education Ministry headed by Minister Dharmendra Pradhan is planning to relax the eligibility criteria for engineering entrance exams, IIT JEE Mains and IIT JEE Advanced.

The top twenty percentile students in each board will now be eligible for admission in IIT and NIT engineering institutions, even if their score is below the 75 per cent mark in the 12th board exams, a top education ministry source told PTI.

The source added that the top twenty percentile scorers in all 12th board exams are below the 75 per cent mark, hence this criterion was chosen.

It is worth noting that, a minimum of 75 per cent marks are mandatory for General category students to get an admission into IIT or NIT colleges, irrespective of their marks in the IIT JEE Mains or IIT JEE Advanced. The minimum marks for SC/ST candidates is 65 per cent as per the latest circulars. It is unclear whether the top 20 percentile criteria would be the same for non-General category students as well.

Business Today had previously reported that the Education Ministry was mulling a relaxation in the eligibility criteria for IIT/ NIT admission via IIT JEE.

In response to a letter by MP Karti P Chidambaram, the Education Minister said, “Thank you for your letter dated 2nd December 2022 and 15th December 2022, regarding a one-time exemption to relax the eligibility criteria for all students appearing for the JEE Main and advanced exams in 2023. The matter has been sent to the concerned department for necessary action.”

A petition for a similar relaxation in eligibility criteria for admission in IIT and NIT colleges had also been filed in the Bombay High Court by student representatives along with a plea to postpone the January leg of the exams.

The court rejected the plea for postponement of exams on Tuesday, but has ordered the student representatives to file a rejoinder, better understood as a second pleading, with regards to relaxation in eligibility criteria. The Bombay High Court would preside on the matter on February 21, after the phase one of IIT JEE Mains 2023.

The phase one of the JEE Mains 2023 exam is scheduled to be conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) from January 24 to January 31 across India. (Business Today) reports