JEE-Advanced test for IITs to be held on July 3

New Delhi: The JEE-Advanced test for admission to Indian Institutes of Technology will be conducted on July 3, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' announced on Thursday.

The relaxation in the eligibility criterion pertaining to class 12 marks will be offered this year too, he said.

"JEE-Advanced will be conducted by IIT Kharagpur on July 3. The relaxation in admission requirement of 75 per cent marks in class 12 which was announced last year in view of COVID-19 pandemic will be offered this year as well," Nishank said.

For admissions to IITs, apart from qualifying the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)-Advanced, the candidates are required to secure either minimum 75 per cent marks in class 12 board exams or rank among the top 20 percentile in their qualifying examinations.

Students who could not take JEE (Advanced) 2020 due to COVID-19 will get a chance to reappear directly, without having to clear the JEE (Main) 2021 which is set to be held four times from this year. The first of this series will be held from February 23 to 26.

Earlier, the dates and the new format of the JEE (Main) were announced by the Education Minister. According to the new notification, the National Testing Agency will be holding the JEE (Main) 2021 four times, in February, March, April and May.

While several students have been urging for a reduced JEE (Advanced) syllabus, some have asked for multiple attempts as in the case of JEE (Main).

Both the Main and Advanced rounds of the Joint Entrance Examination or JEE are qualifying examinations for admissions to undergraduate engineering courses in IITs and a few other premier institutes. Only candidates who clear JEE (Main) can appear for the JEE (Advanced), both being computer-based tests.

(With PTI inputs)