IIT entrance test: cut-offs to vary across boards

Preliminary data of seven boards across the country shows that the percentage required to be in the top 20 percentile — a necessary condition to be eligible for IIT-JEE next year — will vary for different boards. Vanita Shrivastava reports. Eligibility percentage in different boards

In a quirky scenario, a student of the West Bengal class 12 board will need just 58% to be eligible to take the IIT-Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) next year while an aspirant from the Tamil Nadu board will have to score nearly 78% to make the cut.

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Preliminary data of seven boards across the country shows that the percentage required to be in the top 20 percentile — a necessary condition to be eligible for IIT-JEE next year — will vary for different boards.

The new pattern for IIT will have two exams— mains and advanced.

The final rank will depend on the performance in the advanced exam, provided a student is in the top 20 percentile of his or her board.

So far, the eligibility criterion for IITs was that a student should score a minimum of 60%.

The new pattern changes all that. So, if you're a student who wants to make it to the top 20 percentile bracket this year, you'd have to score 77.8% in the CBSE board, 78.1% in the Tamil Nadu board, 67.5% in Karnataka, 65% in Uttar Pradesh, 64% in Madhya Pradesh and just 58% in the West Bengal board exam.

These figures would apply only for general category students.

For students seeking to take the test under various quotas, it would be less.

Separate data will be compiled for these categories soon.

The Council of Boards of School Education (COBSE), which compiled the data this year, said all state boards have been asked to put up their percentage figures in the public domain soon.

"Once the student knows the percentage, he (or she) can prepare for professional entry into IITs accordingly. There will be just minor variations in this figure every year," sources in COBSE said.

"Next year, the numbers would fluctuate around this data. So, an IIT aspirant can know how much he or she should aim for in the boards," said Gautam Baruah, IIT-Guwahati director.

Sources said the ICSE, CBSE, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu boards are most likely to be in the highest percentage bracket. Boards such as those of West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar will be at the lower end.