JEE Main 2023: The 20 percentile criteria debar students who got through NIT and IIT in 2022

The JEE Main 2023 aspirants continue their demand for relaxation or removal of the 75% criteria despite the introduction of 20 percentile criteria; here is why
Pic: EdexLive
Pic: EdexLive

The Ministry of Education (MoE) announced on January 11 that students in the top 20 percentile of each board who do not meet the 75% requirement will now be eligible to apply for admission to NITs (National Institute of Technology) and IITs (Indian Institute of Technology). This decision was made in response to demands to relax the 75% criteria for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) 2023, however, the students are still not satisfied. Candidates who were accepted to NITs and IITs in 2022 are not able to apply to these institutes this year, despite the 20 percentile criteria. "We can't go back in time and improve our grades, and we have already taken a drop year," says Pranshu Shaleen, who made it through a couple of NITs and IITs in 2022. 

The requirement for a 75% score in the Class XII Board exam, which was relaxed in previous years due to the pandemic, has been reinstated for JEE Main 2023 by the IIT Guwahati. Candidates who previously gained admission to NITs and IITs and later dropped out to improve their ranks will no longer be eligible for these institutes this year if they do not have a 75% in their boards. Pranshu Sheel, from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) board, missed the 75% criteria by 0.4%. He says, "The 20 percentile for CBSE goes beyond 85%. Our board exam was messy with two terms and 30-70 weightage. Added to that, we were also going through personal losses." 

The glitch in the 20 percentile criteria
Previously Advocate Anubha Shrivastava, who is fighting the case for the JEE 2023 aspirants, informed us that the new criteria are flawed and non-inclusive. She said that students from boards that will not declare their top 20 percentile will have to get a certificate from their board stating that they belong to the top 20 percentile, and if they fail to do so, their percentile will be according to CBSE. Given that the CBSE board top 20 percentile goes beyond 85%, according to Shrivastava, this criteria will unfairly disadvantage students from boards where it is challenging to score such high marks.

Chinmay Dhongd, who falls short of the 75% by 0.2% says that the new 20 percentile criteria divide the student community who are demanding a relaxation in this criteria. "The new criteria only makes certain students from low-scoring boards eligible. The rest still stand ineligible in this case," he says, adding, "The criteria is not in favour of the students." 

Can improving board marks be a way out?
Like, Pranshu Shaleen, Aansh Ashraf is another student who made it through an IIT last year but took a drop to improve his rank. However, the eligibility criteria eliminated him from applying to his dream colleges despite the new 20 percentile criteria. "Were we informed earlier about the 75% criteria this year, we would have applied for marks improvement in CBSE. However, the dates for that closed sometime in September or November. We were considering improving our grades through NIOS (National Institute of Open Schooling) this year, but the NTA said it would not accept it and that a student must appear for all five subjects (at least) for their grade to be approved," says Ashraf. 

As per the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) released by IIT Guwahati, a student can improve their marks to apply for admission. The FAQ states. "If a candidate had appeared his/her Class XII (or equivalent) in 2022 and wishes to improve his/her aggregate marks to meet the “aggregate marks of 75% (or 65% for SC, ST and PwD) criterion”, she/he can reappear for any number of subjects she/he wishes for improvement. The percentage marks in this situation will be calculated by considering the marks obtained in 2022 or 2023, whichever is higher, in the respective subjects, in her/his two attempts in 2022 and 2023." This does not address the question of whether a candidate can apply for the exam through a separate board, and in this case, from NIOS.

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