The Indian Institutes of Technology may eschew the 75 percent score eligibility criterion this year for admitting students. In case this is put into effect, it will be a one-time exception.

This year, the examinations of CBSE, ICSE and several other boards have been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The boards have devised alternate methods of evaluating students’ performances.

The IITs may also reduce the syllabus for JEE Advanced for this year.

According to sources, it might be possible that due to the alternate evaluation schemes, many students may find themselves not eligible for JEE Main and JEE Advanced due to a lower score.

The Joint Implementation Committee discussed the matter in a meeting comprising the JEE chairpersons of all the IITs. According to reports, the IIT may have agreed to drop the 75 percent marks eligibility criterion for admission through JEE Main as well as JEE Advanced.

The final decision will be made with the approval of the Joint Admission Board.

According to the current eligibility criteria, a candidate should feature among the top 20 percentile candidates or should have scored at least 75% marks in the class 12 board examination, besides fulfilling other criteria like age, year of passing, and so on. The eligibility criteria are more relaxed for SC, ST and PWD candidates.

According to the official examination schedule, the JEE Main 2020 will be held from 1 to 6 September, while JEE Advanced is due to be held on 27 September.