Mumbai: Days after the Ministry of Higher Education decided that those who emerge in the top 20 percentile of their respective state boards can appear for the JEE counseling process, students believe that the eligibility relaxations are still not enough while demanding a lower cutoff.
Candidates appearing for JEE Main 2023 observed the extreme disparities between the top scores of various state boards over the past few years and believe that the proposed screening system is unfit for a nationwide entrance exam.
“The top 20 percentile scores for Maharashtra state board went over 75% in the previous years, for ICSE it might even be 90%, whereas the Bihar state board has 65% over the past few years. This means that only students from certain states are allowed wiggle room when it comes to the benchmark of 75%,” said a class 12 student preparing for JEE Main 2023.
The practicality of this benchmark has also been called into question as several state boards have discontinued the practise of releasing their top twenty percentiles after the class 12 board exams were taken online during COVID.
If state boards choose not to divulge these lists this year as well, then the onus of procuring proof of being in the top twenty percentile from the state will lie upon the students. If these JEE candidates are unable to do so, then they will be screened as per the top twenty percentiles of the CBSE or the national board, explained Advocate Anubha Srivastava, President of India Wide Parents Association Lawyer.
“The top twenty percentiles for the CBSE board have seldom fallen below 85%, reversing the purpose of these relaxations. These benefits will only be available for some students to reap, the others won’t be able to get into an IIT or an NIT even if they top the JEE Main,” said Anubha.
The National Testing Agency announced the eligibility criteria a month before the January session of JEE Main 2023. These criteria were reinstated for the 2023 exam after a two-year hiatus caused by the covid-19. The students who had dropped out of the JEE Main 2022 counselling process to improve their rank by reappearing for the exam now find themselves in a fix.
“This would not have been such a problem only if NTA had announced the eligibility a few months before the exam. I focused on my JEE preparation and chose not to reappear for my class 12 boards since I managed to score 74.08%. If Maharashtra board’s top twenty percentile is higher than this, then I will have to let go of another year only because of a mere 0.2%,” said Chinmay Dhongde, a Pune student who intends to take a second shot at JEE Main in 2023.
