Dismiss plea for relaxation of Class XII score criterion in JEE, NTA urges HC
THE DIRECTOR of National Testing Agency (NTA) has sought the Bombay High Court to dismiss the plea seeking relaxation of the criterion of scoring 75 perc cent marks in Class XII (Higher Secondary Examination) exams to appear for the Joint Entrance Examination (Mains).
The agency said its decision was “conscious and well considered” and the relaxation of the criterion for previous academic years was “one time measure”.
NTA Director Binod Kumar Sahu on April 26 filed a detailed response to the plea that sought relaxation of the criterion, arguing that students who passed Class 12 in 2020-21 and 2021-2022 were assessed on the basis of their performance in previous examinations as board exams were cancelled owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The plea, filed by child activist Anubha Srivastava Sahai, added that the marks scored by such students were not a “true reflection of their actual ability”.
“The marks scored by them is not a true reflection of their actual ability, therefore those students with lower 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 (students),” stated the plea.
On April 24, a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sanjay V Gangapurwala and Justice Sandeep V Marne had said that it will hear on May 2 NTA’s response on the purpose of the eligibility criterion of 75 per cent marks in the Class 12 board exams to appear for the JEE (Main) despite there
being a qualifying exam for admission to the IITs, NITs and IIITs.
