Getting into IIT tougher due to higher cut-offs

COIMJBATORE:  Despite a tricky question paper in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE 2011), the race to enter the premier Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) has become tougher this year with higher cut-offs.Statistics reveal that this year, the overall merit cut-off marks have gone up by a whopping 39 for the General Category aspirants compared to the scene last year. Even the individual subject cut-offs in Math, Physics and Chemistry have increased.While last year, an aspirant with a JEE score of 190 was eligible for admission into the IITs under the general category, the cut-off has increased to 229 marks.For the OBC students, the overall cut-off has increased from 171 to 207 and in the case of SC/ST and physically disabled (PD) students the cut-off has gone up from 95 (same for all) to 119 for SCs, and 115 for STs and PD category aspirants.According to Prof V Kamakoti, chairman, JEE 2001, IIT-Madras zone, the increased cut-offs reflect that “students who aspire to get into the IITs were preparing well.”He added, “This time, the questions were also very tricky. Despite that, the students have performed well, particularly in Mathematics. Students belonging to SC/ ST category have also performed well this time.”The JEE is a gateway for entering the 15 IITs, the Indian School of Mines (Dhanbad) and the Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University (IT-BHU).This year, the cut-off in Mathematics has increased drastically. Against a cut-off of 17 marks for the general category students in 2010, this time, the base mark in the subject is 34. For the OBCs, this cut-off has increased from 16 to 31. Aspirants belonging to the SC/ST and PD categories have to score a minimum of 17 marks in Math compared to the nine last year. For Chemistry and Physics, the cut-off remains unchanged at 18 for the OBC students, while for the general category aspirants, it has increased by one mark from 19 in 2010.