JEE Main 2020: CSAB removes minimum 75% marks in Class 12 as eligibility criteria; pass certificate suffices

The Central Seat Allocation Board (CSAB) has decided to relax the eligibility criteria for admissions to National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and other Centrally Funded Technical Institutions. The decision has been taken by the centre due to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic. Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ took to Twitter to announce the decision and said that JEE Main 2020 qualified candidates will now need a passing certificate in Class 12 board examination for admission to these institutions.

Due to prevailing circumstances, Central Seat Allocation Board (#CSAB) has decided to relax the eligibility criterion for admissions to NITs and other #CFTIs.

— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) July 23, 2020

According to a report by Hindustan Times, initially candidates applying for JEE Main must have secured at least 75 percent aggregate marks in Class 12 board exam  or should rank among the top 20 percentile of successful candidates in their qualifying exam. The decision comes within days after the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) decided to drop the Class 12 performance of students as the criteria for admission in the current academic year. The Union minister had announced that due to the partial cancellation of class 12 exams by several Boards, Joint Admission Board (JAB) has decided to relax the eligibility criterion for JEE (Advanced) 2020 qualified candidates this time. For admission to IITs, JEE (Advanced) exam is conducted. Candidates who qualify JEE (Main) and the top 2,50,000 rank holders are eligible to appear for the JEE Advanced exam. JEE Main 2020 will be held between 1 and 6 September, while JEE Advanced will be conducted on 27 September. A report by NDTV said that due to COVID-19 pandemic, most board examinations could not be held as per the schedule. The results had to be declared on the basis of a new assessment scheme. The final results have been based on the average marks secured by the students in the subjects for which the exam was conducted.