AICTE lowers cut-off for engg courses to 45%

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/AICTE-lowers-cut-off-for-engg-courses-to-45-/813345/

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has lowered the eligibility criteria for engineering courses from 50 per cent in Class 12 (in physics, chemistry and math or PCM) to 45 per cent for general category candidates and 40 per cent for reserved category candidates.

S S Mantha, chairman of AICTE, told The Indian Express that the relaxation is mandatory for states to follow and it eliminates disparities. He added that it also has been relaxed in view of demographics. “Some children go to good schools and some go to not so good ones but they are talented,” he said. “This way they will get admission.”

With regards to empty seats, which was being seen as a reason for the move, the AICTE chairman said it is mostly in streams that are not so popular or in rural areas. “Overall we have 10 per cent vacant seats and they are not evenly distributed.”