The government has been forced to clarify its stand on just how Class 12 results will affect admission to IIT.

On Monday, Kapil Sibal announced that starting in 2011, Class 12 marks will play a greater role in determining who gets into IIT. Sibal is the Minister for Human Resource Development. He said that students often ignore their Class 12 board exams to focus on entrance exams for IIT, and the new policy hopes to address that.

Sibal says his remarks were misreported by some parts of the media, which said that the new guidelines mean that students will need to score much higher in their boards if they want to get into IIT. Currently, students who clear the IIT entrance exam have to prove they've scored at least 60 per cent in their Boards.

Raising this minimum worries states like Bihar, where students do not have equal access to good schools. Students here perform well in the entrance exam, however, and this guarantees them admission in IIT.

Sibal has clarified that the current policy has not been changed, and there is no cause for concern.  What role Class 12 results will play in IIT admission will be decided by a new committee headed by Dr Anil Kakodkar, chairperson of the Atomic Energy Commission.  The committee is expected to submit its guidelines in January for review.