At 22.7%, girls shine bright in JEE Advanced

Indian Express

02-06-2025

AS THE results of JEE Advanced 2025 were declared on Monday, a significant milestone was achieved with 22.7% of female candidates qualifying for admission to IITs, marking the highest pass percentage for girls in recent years.
Out of 41,337 girls who appeared for the highly competitive national-level exam, 9,404 cleared the test. This indicates an increase in the number of girls qualifying for the IITs, a promising shift since 2018 when female supernumerary seat scheme was introduced to address low and stagnant female representation in the prestigious institute. Under the scheme, additional seats were created exclusively for girl students, with a target of reaching 20% enrolment within five years.
In 2018, the pass percentage of girls in JEE-Advanced was 13.47%. It increased to 16.11% in 2019, and peaked at 19.98% in 2021 until now.
Meanwhile, the qualifying score to make it to the common rank list this year was 74, down from 109 last year, and 86 in 2023. Officials attributed this to more difficult papers this year. In 2022, the qualifying mark for the common rank list was lower – 55.
The seat matrix released by the Joint Seat Allocation Authority on Monday shows 18,160 seats are available across the 23 IITs, up from 17,740 last year. Of the total IIT seats this year, 1,598 are supernumerary ones for female candidates.
Prof Timothy Gonsalves, former Director of IIT-Mandi and the chair of the committee that introduced the supernumerary seat scheme, welcomed the development. 'The motivation behind the scheme was to ensure that enough girls enter IITs and become role models for the next generation — proving that IITs are viable, welcoming spaces for girls to pursue higher education. What we are seeing now is that vision taking root. I expect this upward trend to continue,' he said.
Although, increased pass percentage will not automatically translate to increased number of enrolment of girls in IITs, experts are pointing out that the trend indicates a larger picture that increasing number of girls are excelling in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) subjects, which has been a purpose behind multiple outreach programmes held in the past to encourage girls to take up STEM courses.
Whether it is 'Manasvi' by IIT-Delhi, which focuses on schoolgirls from Classes 9 to 12 to encourage them to explore careers in STEM; or the WISE (Women in Science Engineering) initiative by IIT Bombay, which invites girls from multiple high schools to IIT campus for a week-long workshop to introduce them to exciting new careers in STEM, various IITs are conducting similar outreach activities. Various IIT professors have noted that girls were always seen shining bright in board exam results but this talent was not going to STEM courses.
Furthermore, almost all IITs have held dedicated open houses for successful female candidates and their parents, addressing their concerns such as campus life and safety issues, which may have been keeping them from joining IITs for higher education.
Prof Aditya Mittal of IIT-Delhi, a former chairperson of JEE Advanced, emphasised that this progress is a result of addressing three key challenges that had historically limited girls' entry into premier institutes.
'One of the biggest hurdles was the stigma associated with certain engineering branches, often perceived as male-oriented. With evolving curricula and the changing nature of engineering work, combined with open-house events organised by IITs, these misconceptions are being addressed. The second major barrier was the reluctance of parents to send their daughters far from home. Now, with 23 IITs , students from nearly every state have an institute closer to home, which is easing parental concerns,' he said, adding that the third concern has been safety and campus culture.