JEE Main 2023: Bombay High Court to hear 75% eligibility criteria plea
Today, the Bombay High Court will be hearing a plea regarding the eligibility criteria for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2023. The plea, which challenges the 75 per cent marks in class 12 eligibility criteria for the exam, has been listed as item number 52 in the court. The petitioner has requested the National Testing Agency (NTA) to eliminate the 75 per cent eligibility standard for this year’s entrance test, claiming that it is unjust to candidates and does not reflect their true abilities.
The PIL stated that "the marks scored by them is not a true reflection of their actual ability, therefore those students with less marks than the eligibility criteria (75 per cent) for this year’s examinations can score very high marks in the upcoming JEE Main 2023, and if a fair chance is denied to them that will affect the future (of) lakhs of bright (candidates).”
To appear for JEE Main 2023, candidates must secure a total of 75 per cent marks in class 12 or be in the top 20 percentile of their respective boards, according to NTA rules.
The Bombay High Court bench had previously questioned the reason behind setting 75 per cent as the eligibility criteria for JEE Main, which is another qualifying test. Additionally, advocates appearing on behalf of the petitioner claimed that the report regarding the top 20 percentile of candidates has not been released by the boards since 2019.
In addition to the relaxation of the 75 per cent criteria, a recent petition filed by a candidate requested a third session for the JEE Mains Exam in May 2023. NTA has already conducted two sessions of the exam, the first from January 24 to February 1 and the second from April 6 to April 15. The cut-off list for JEE Main is based on various factors such as the number of students who took the examination, the difficulty level of the question paper, the average performance of the students, and the number of seats available in colleges. Based on these factors, NTA decides the minimum scores required for all engineering colleges, and candidates wishing to appear in JEE Advanced must obtain this minimum score.