New Delhi: Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal on Tuesday said there was no proposal to allow only those with 80% marks in their Class XII examinations to sit for the IIT Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), a day after his reported suggestions triggered adverse reactions.

    The minister said it was the IITs’ prerogative to decide what weightage to give to the Class 12 exam. Presently, the eligibility criteria for JEE is 60% marks in the Class 12 exam.

    Sibal said he was misquoted on Tuesday to create the impression that he wanted to raise the eligibility cut-off for the IIT entrance exam to 80%.

    With Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar having faxed Sibal a letter of protest and RJD’s Lalu Prasad and LJP’s Ramvilas Paswan also on their feet, Sibal issued a written statement making it clear that the eligibility criteria to ‘‘appear in JEE is decided by the IITs themselves’’.

source: TOI