AICTE revises eligibility criteria for admission of ‘gifted’ students in technical institutions

NEW DELHI: The All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has revised the eligibility criteria for admission of ‘gifted’ students to supernumerary seats in technical institutions. As per the changes, now candidates require 50 percent marks in Class 12 to be eligible for admissions. Also, students who have qualified the state or national-level entrance examination will get an extra 40% weightage.

Earlier, students belonging to the unreserved category needed only 45% marks and those belonging to the reserved category required 40% in Class 12 to be eligible.

The revised eligibility criteria is as follows:

• Candidate must be an Indian citizen.
• Candidates must have successfully passed Class 12 level exam with minimum 50% marks (as per current education pattern or equivalent stream as per NEP 2020 guidelines)
• An extra edge of up to 40% would be provided in case of students who have qualified the state or central level entrance exam.

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AICTE last year announced that 2 supernumerary seats will be created for ‘gifted and talented’ students. Such students will not be required to appear for the entrance exams such as the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).

Those students will be identified as gifted students who have either won prizes at national or international level competitions, received funds from government agencies to pursue projects, published high-quality research papers in peer-reviewed journals, hold Indian or international patents, registered a startup, own apps, or have developed a recognised project.

Students applying for the seats will have to submit a statement of purpose and three letters of recommendation. The admission process will include screening of data, interviews by state lelve committee, face-to-face meetings with the subject experts, and final interview by a national level committee. The technical institutions offering these seats will be selected based on their rankings and accreditations.