Jadavpur University has relaxed the eligibility criteria for SC, ST and disabled engineering aspirants after the state backward classes welfare department objected to the original norms.
The university authorities had made 60 per cent in mathematics and 55 per cent in physics, chemistry and mathematics together in the plus II exam a must for SC, ST and disabled candidates to be eligible for admission to the undergraduate engineering courses next year.
After the commission pointed out to the authorities that the criteria should be lower for such students, the university decided that they would be eligible for admission if they scored at least 45 per cent in mathematics and 45 per cent in physics, chemistry and mathematics together in plus II.
No exemption has been granted to OBC students.
A student also needs to rank near the top in the JEE to secure admission in JU engineering.
Metro had reported on December 22 that JU had set 60 per cent in mathematics in the boards as the minimum criteria for all students seeking admission in JU engineering next year. While general students also have to score 60 per cent in physics, chemistry and mathematics together to be eligible, SC, ST and disabled students were granted a 5 per cent exemption on the combined score.
The university authorities had informed the JEE board about the criteria.
A senior university official told Metro that an official of the backward classes welfare department had contacted them on December 23 and said the criteria violated the guidelines the department had come up with in 1995.
"Based on the formulae cited in the guidelines, we have revised the eligibility criteria for the reserved category students to 45 per cent in mathematics and 45 per cent in physics, chemistry and mathematics taken together," said the JU dean of engineering, Sivaji Bandyopadhyay.
The revised criteria have been uploaded on the JEE board's online prospectus for next year's entrance examination, scheduled for May 17.
A senior official of the joint entrance board confirmed that the JU authorities had contacted them to revise the original criteria they had set.
In the past two academic sessions (2014-15 and 2015-16), the JU authorities had maintained a minimum eligibility criteria of 60 per cent in physics, chemistry and mathematics together for general students and 55 per cent for SC, ST and disabled candidates.
"Going by the backward classes welfare department guideline, the eligibility criteria in the past two years should have been 45 per cent in the combined score in the three science subjects. But because we had set the criterion at 55 per cent, many reserved category students could not take part in counselling," admitted a JU official.
At any engineering institute, 22 per cent of the seats are reserved for SC candidates and 6 per cent for ST candidates.