Class 12th marks criteria has been dropped as one of the eligibility criteria for admissions to IIT. Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal made the announcement on Friday and said that students will be eligible for IIT based on JEE Advanced scores and receiving a passing marks in the 12th class board exam.

HRD Minister said, “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.”

Earlier, students had to score at least 75% marks or be in the top 20th percentile in their respective boards in the class 12th board exam to be eligible for admissions to various IITs. This was apart from the scores in JEE Advanced examination.

This is a one-time measure and the JAB is expected to switch to the Class 12th marks criteria from next year onward.

JEE Advanced exam is now scheduled to be conducted on September 27. Candidates who have received a rank of 250,000 or above in JEE Main exam are eligible to appear for the JEE Advanced examination. The scores of JEE Advanced is used for admissions to various IITs.

Due to the COVID-19 situation in the country, JEE Advanced 2020 has already been postponed twice. The exam was first scheduled to be conducted on May 17 which was postponed to August 23 and now has been scheduled for September 27.