In a significant development for lakhs of IIT aspirants across the country, the JEE Advanced 2021 exam has been postponed considering the Covid-19 situation in the country. The new date for the exam, which was scheduled to take place on July 3 this year will be announced at an appropriate time, according to an official notification released by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur.
The JEE Advanced examination is the second stage for getting admission to the Indian Institute of Technology, the most prestigious engineering college in the country. The top 2.5 lakh students who clear the first stage of JEE Mains are eligible to sit for the JEE Advanced exam. The JEE Mains exam was scheduled to be held this year in four phases. However, the National Testing Agency(NTA) was only able to conduct two phases. The remaining two phases had to be postponed as Covid-19 cases began to rise exponentially in the country from April.
While the new dates for the JEE Advanced exam have not been announced yet, it can take place only after all four phases of JEE Mains exam are conducted.
Earlier this year, given the pandemic and postponement of Class 12 board exams, the eligibility criteria of getting 75% in Class 12 exams in order to get admission to the IIT’s was also relaxed. Further, students who qualified for JEE Advanced, 2020 but couldn’t give the exam were also eligible to sit for this year’s JEE Advanced paper.