In a relief to students aspiring to secure admissions in the prestigious National Institutes of Technology (NITs) amid COVID-19 pandemic, the union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) announced a relaxation in the admission criteria.

According to the announcement made on Thursday, the minimum requirement of having at least 75% marks in class 12 board exams for students hoping to get admitted to NITs and other centrally funded technical institutions has been done away with in the current academic year.

"Due to prevailing circumstances, Central Seat Allocation Board (CSAB) has decided to relax the eligibility criterion for admissions to NITs and other centrally funded technical institutions," Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' tweeted.

"JEE Main 2020 qualified candidates will now only need to obtain a passing certificate in class XII examination irrespective of the marks obtained," he further said.

For admissions in NITs and other centrally funded technical institutions, apart from qualifying the Joint Entrance Examinations-Main (JEE), a student had to secure a minimum of 75% marks in Class 12 board exams or rank among the top 20 percentile in their qualifying examinations.

A few days ago, the minister had announced that the coveted Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have also decided to relax the admission eligibility criteria for students hoping to get admitted into them. For students who are aspiring to secure a seat in IITs this academic year, it is sufficient if they pass their class 12 board exams apart from qualifying in JEE-Advanced. The criteria otherwise was to secure at least 75% marks in their class 12 board exams or secure a rank among the top 20 percentile in their qualifying exams, similar to NITs entry criteria.

The Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)-Mains, which has been postponed twice, will now be held from September 1-6.