The Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee) has clarified that there will be no relaxation in the Class 12 eligibility criteria for candidates who qualified for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advanced 2026.
The announcement comes amid growing concerns among students affected by the ongoing controversy surrounding the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (Central Board of Secondary Education) On-Screen Marking (OSM) system.
However, IIT Roorkee stated that it is working closely with CBSE to find solutions for students whose board examination results may have been impacted by evaluation-related issues.
Why IIT Roorkee Refused to Lower the Eligibility Requirement
According to IIT Roorkee, students from 36 different education boards across India participate in the admission process every year. Therefore, changing the eligibility criteria for one board would create complications for maintaining fairness across all boards.
The institute also pointed out that the Class 12 eligibility requirement was announced months in advance, giving students sufficient notice.
Officials further noted that similar situations occurred last year when some students lost admission opportunities because they failed to meet the required board examination percentage criteria.
As a result, IIT Roorkee has made it clear that reducing the eligibility benchmark is not currently being considered.
What Is the Current IIT Admission Eligibility Rule?
To secure admission to an IIT through JEE Advanced, candidates must fulfill both entrance examination and board examination requirements.
Students must meet at least one of the following conditions:
- Score a minimum of 75% aggregate marks in Class 12.
- SC, ST, and PwD candidates must secure at least 65% aggregate marks.
- Alternatively, candidates can qualify by being among the top 20 percentile of successful students in their respective education boards.
This policy applies to students from all recognized school boards across the country.
The requirement was temporarily suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic but was later reinstated.
What Is the CBSE OSM Controversy?
The demand for relaxation emerged after concerns regarding CBSE’s on-screen marking system used for evaluating Class 12 answer sheets this year.
Following the declaration of board examination results, many students claimed that their scores were significantly lower than expected.
The situation intensified when students accessed scanned copies of their evaluated answer sheets through CBSE’s portal.
Several students reported issues such as:
- Blurred answer sheet scans
- Missing pages
- Unchecked answers
- Evaluation inconsistencies
- Alleged mismatches in uploaded answer sheets
These complaints sparked widespread concern among students and parents, particularly among those preparing for engineering admissions.
CBSE Begins Grievance Redressal Process
In response to the complaints, CBSE acknowledged that errors had occurred in some cases and assured students that corrective action would be taken wherever necessary.
The board has since activated its post-result grievance redressal mechanism, allowing students to apply for:
- Verification of marks
- Re-evaluation of answer sheets
- Review of evaluated responses
According to CBSE data released on June 4, 2026, the board received more than 70,000 applications through the grievance process.
These included:
- 7,314 applications for mark verification
- 63,119 applications for re-evaluation
The large number of applications highlights the scale of concern among students.
Why JEE Advanced Students Are Worried
For many engineering aspirants, the issue goes beyond board examination marks.
Several students who successfully qualified both JEE Main and JEE Advanced fear they may lose their chance of entering IITs if their Class 12 percentage remains below the required threshold.
Many affected students and parents have, therefore, requested the following:
- Temporary relaxation of the 75% rule
- Grace marks
- Faster re-evaluation procedures
- Extension of admission deadlines until re-evaluation results are announced
However, IIT Roorkee has reiterated that the eligibility requirement will remain unchanged.
IIT Roorkee Assures Support for Affected Students
While ruling out any reduction in eligibility criteria, IIT Roorkee has assured students that it is maintaining close communication with CBSE.
The institute stated that efforts are being made to resolve genuine cases as quickly as possible so that deserving students are not unfairly impacted by evaluation-related issues.
For now, students awaiting re-evaluation results will have to rely on the ongoing grievance process while admission authorities and CBSE work toward resolving the matter.