Board examination marks could soon play a far bigger role in deciding admissions to India's top medical and engineering colleges, with the government examining a proposal to give board scores up to 50 per cent weightage in the merit process for NEET and JEE, sources familiar with the matter said.

CURRENT SYSTEM
At present, admission to medical and engineering courses is determined almost entirely by performance in entrance examinations. Candidates must currently secure the prescribed qualifying percentage in their board examinations only to become eligible to sit for these entrance tests — board marks themselves carry no weight in the final merit ranking or counselling process.

WHAT IS BEING PROPOSED
According to sources, the reforms under discussion go beyond just board weightage. The changes being contemplated include 50 per cent weightage for board marks in admission and merit calculations, closer alignment of entrance tests with school syllabi to reduce dependence on coaching centres, provisions for multiple attempts, and a gradual shift towards adaptive, on-demand computer-based testing.

WHO IS BEHIND THE PROPOSAL
The proposed reforms are being examined by a nine-member committee constituted by the Ministry of Education last year to study students' dependence on coaching institutes, the proliferation of "dummy schools," and the fairness of high-stakes entrance examinations. Separate reporting indicates the panel is expected to submit its final report to the government in the coming weeks.

WHY NOW
The push for reform comes amid growing scrutiny of the examination system following a string of controversies — including paper leaks, evaluation errors, and questions over the credibility of centralised testing. This year's NEET UG cycle itself has been affected: a re-examination was conducted in June after an earlier leak crisis, and the National Testing Agency is currently processing candidate objections to the provisional answer key.

THE NORMALISATION CHALLENGE
Introducing board marks into entrance rankings is not a new idea — it has reportedly been discussed for over a decade — but has repeatedly stalled over the technical problem of "normalisation." India has dozens of state boards in addition to CBSE and ICSE, and grading standards vary widely between them, making it difficult to compare a given percentage from one board fairly against another without a contested statistical formula.

CURRENT STATUS

Officials and sources have stressed that the proposal remains at the discussion stage. No formal notification has been issued by the Ministry of Education or the National Testing Agency, and the existing admission framework — based solely on entrance exam scores — remains in effect for the ongoing NEET and JEE cycles. Any change of this scale would need to be announced well in advance of implementation, given its impact on lakhs of aspiring students.