IIT Admissions 2020: 12th board examination marks may be dropped this year

Due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis across the country and the board exams being cancelled due to the same, the Indian Institutes of Technology or the IITs are overviewing the cancellation of the performance criterion which is normally applied to shortlisted12th standard students into undergraduate courses. This is a one-time move, as per reports. 

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IIT selection criteria under review for 2020

In normal instances, a student who has achieved a rank in the general category in JEE Advanced has to score a minimum of 75% or be a part of the top 20 percentile in the board result. Then only the student can be selected for a seat in the IIT. On the other hand, an SC or ST student must have over 65% and also be in the top 20 percentile in the board exams.

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However, in July the Central Board of Secondary Examinations and Council for The Indian School Certificate Examination (CBSE and CISCE) cancelled all the exams for the students, as the coronavirus number saw a steep rise in numbers and no decline in the past two months. The move came after several parents associations filed petitions for cancellation of exams due to the COVID-19 situation and the health risk due to the exposure if the students do come out to appear for examinations.

CBSE and CISCE released evaluation model where the students would be marked on the average and best performing subjects. The alternate evaluation was considered by the Joint Implementation Committee or the JIC for JEE. The committee is formed of all chairpersons of IIT.

The chairpersons reportedly were of the opinion that the 12th standard criteria should differ this year. According to JIC, the IITs should be considered the rank holders this year. Doing off with the criterion only for this year was suggested by the JIC. The proposal has been submitted to the Joint Admission Board. The approval on the changes is yet to be received.

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Including the admission criteria, the committee is looking at conducting the JEE Advanced at international centres as well. There are travel restrictions for international travellers, the committee is looking at arranging centre in Dhaka, Singapore, Kathmandu and other places. The new date for JEE Advanced is September 27, 2020. The examinations have been postponed for the third time this year.

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