IITs relax admission rules: Due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation and cancellation of Class XII exams by several education Boards, the Joint Admission Board has decided to relax the eligibility criterion for admissions to IITs on Friday. The IITs decided that qualified candidates who have passed class XII examinations will now be eligible for admissions irrespective of marks obtained.

In a relief to students amid coronavirus outbreak, the Union HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ yesterday announced some relaxations for admissions in Indian Institutes of Technology. The students clearing Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) will be eligible for admission in the Indian Institutes of Technology, irrespective of their marks in class 12 board examination. “Qualified candidates who have passed class XII examinations will now be eligible for admissions irrespective of marks obtained,” the minister said in a series of tweets.

As several boards ‘partially’ canceled their class 12 examinations in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, the HRD ministry has decided to change the admission norms for IITs. “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,” Pokhriyal said.

For admission to IITs, a general category rank holder in JEE (Advanced) candidate also should have either scored at least 75% or figure in the top 20 percentile of her Board results to secure a seat at an IIT. For the SC/ ST candidates, the candidates should have either scored at least 65% or fulfill the top 20 percentile requirement.

The JAB decided to relax the eligibility criterion wherein a candidate who have qualified JEE (Advanced) need to just have the Class XII qualifying marks.

Announcing the decision, Ramesh Pokhriyal, union minister for HRD, tweeted, “For admission to IITs, apart from qualifying the JEE (Advanced), the eligibility was to secure either minimum score of 75% marks in Class XII Board exams or rank among the top 20 percentile in their qualifying examinations.”

“Due to the partial cancellation of Class XII exams by several Boards, Joint Admission Board (JAB) has decided to relax eligibility criteria for JEE (Advanced) 2020 qualified candidates this time.”

“Qualified candidates who have passed class XII examinations will now be eligible for admissions irrespective of marks obtained,” said the minister.
The JEE (Main) examination, which has been postponed twice, will now be held from September 1 to 6, while JEE (Advanced), which is conducted by the IITs, is scheduled to be held on September 27, 2020.

“In view of the current situation arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has decided that the JEE (Main) 2020 will now be held in (1- 6) September from 9 am to 12 pm in the first shift and from 3 pm to 6 pm the second shift,” NTA said. The agency said it will allow aspirants to modify the applications, including changes in the city of exam centers if required.