Class 12 Board Marks May Get 50% Weightage in NEET, JEE Main

| Updated On - Jul 3, 2026

A PARAKH report has recommended giving up to 50 percent weightage to Class 12 board exam marks in NEET and JEE Main based admissions. If approved by the Ministry of Education, the reform may apply from the 2027 admission cycle onwards.

Class 12 Board Marks May Get 50 Percent Weightage in NEET and JEE Main Admissions

The Performance Assessment Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development (PARAKH), a unit of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), has recommended giving up to 50 percent weightage to Class 12 board exam marks in NEET and JEE Main based admissions. The proposal has been submitted to the Ministry of Education for review.

The report seeks to blend board results with entrance exam scores. It aims to reduce full reliance on a single entrance test. If approved, the new rule may apply from the 2027 admission cycle. Both national and state board students would come under one framework.

Key Highlights of the PARAKH Proposal

Point	Detail
Proposing body	PARAKH under NCERT
Recommended weightage	Up to 50 percent for Class 12 board marks
Exams covered	NEET UG and JEE Main
Deciding authority	Ministry of Education
Likely rollout	From the 2027 admission cycle if cleared

How NEET and JEE Main Admissions Work Today

NEET UG uses only the entrance exam rank for medical seat allotment. Class 12 marks act only as a minimum eligibility filter. General category students need 50 percent in PCB. Reserved category students need 40 percent in PCB.

JEE Main is the gateway for engineering seats in NITs and IIITs. Students need 75 percent in Class 12 to be eligible. Reserved category students need 65 percent in Class 12. Their entrance rank alone decides admissions today.

What Will Change if the Proposal Is Approved?

Class 12 board marks will directly shape NEET and JEE Main based ranks. Up to half the final merit score may come from boards. The remaining half will come from the entrance test score. This would apply across CBSE, ICSE, and state boards.

PARAKH has also pushed for equivalence across boards. Its study covered 32 boards and found large variance in difficulty. A common scaling method will match marks across boards. This aims to make the reform fair for all students.

PARAKH July 2024 Recommendation for Board Result Composition

PARAKH had earlier suggested weightage across Classes 9 to 12. The idea was to reduce pressure on one board year alone. The current proposal builds on the same reform push. The full class-wise split from that report is below.

Class	Weightage in Final Class 12 Result
Class 9	15 percent
Class 10	20 percent
Class 11	25 percent
Class 12	40 percent

Who Will Be Affected First?

Class 12 board students from 2027 may face this new rule. Both CBSE and state board students will fall under it. Coaching heavy plans that skip school study may need a rethink. Schools may also revamp their internal exam patterns.

Why This Matters

Board marks have never directly counted in NEET or JEE Main ranks. If cleared, this may be the biggest admissions reform in over a decade. It could also curb coaching only preparation for entrance exams.