NEET, JEE admissions may soon include 50% weightage from Class 12 board exams under new reforms

Board examination scores could soon play a much larger role in medical and engineering admissions, with a government-appointed panel examining a proposal to give them 50% weight in the final merit calculation, PTI reported, citing sources.

At present, entry to these courses depends almost entirely on performance in entrance examinations such as NEET and JEE, while board marks are used mainly to determine whether a candidate meets the minimum eligibility criteria.

The proposal is part of a wider attempt to ensure that a student’s future is not decided by a single high-pressure examination.

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Push to reduce the stakes of one exam

The possible change comes amid renewed scrutiny of India’s examination system following incidents involving paper leaks, evaluation mistakes and other irregularities.

Policymakers are examining whether combining board performance with entrance-test scores could provide a more balanced assessment of students and reduce the intense pressure associated with one examination.

“The changes being contemplated are 50 per cent weightage for board marks in admission/merit, closer alignment of entrance tests with school syllabi to reduce dependence on coaching centres, multiple attempts and a gradual shift towards adaptive on-demand computer-based tests,” a source said.

Coaching centres and dummy schools under review

The proposal is being studied by a nine-member committee set up by the Ministry of Education last year.

The panel was asked to examine students’ growing reliance on coaching institutes, the expansion of “dummy schools” and concerns over fairness in high-stakes entrance examinations.

Dummy schools typically enrol students formally while allowing them to focus largely on coaching instead of attending regular classes.

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Entrance tests may move closer to school syllabus

The committee is also considering stronger alignment between entrance examinations and the curriculum taught in schools.

The aim is to make classroom learning more relevant to competitive examinations and reduce the advantage gained through intensive coaching.

Other measures being explored include allowing candidates more than one attempt and gradually moving towards adaptive, computer-based tests that can be taken on demand.

Panel report expected soon

The committee is expected to submit its final recommendations to the government in the coming weeks.

Any change to the current admission system would require a detailed framework covering the treatment of marks awarded by different boards, standardisation of scores and the transition from the existing entrance-only model.