NEW DELHI, Nov 27: A few IITs and NITs will conduct some of the engineering courses in the mother-tongue (regional language) of the concerned area from next year, the Education Ministry has announced.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal on Thursday.

"A seminal decision was also made during the meeting that engineering courses imparting education in mother-tongue will be opened from next academic year. A few IITs & NITs are being shortlisted for the same," Pokhriyal tweeted.

It was already decided earlier that the JEE will be conducted in nine regional languages, apart from Hindi and English, from next year. No decision has yet been taken on JEE Advanced.

The Ministry meeting also decided to recommend to the National Testing Agency (NTA) to revise the syllabus of JEE and NEET examinations in view of the difficulties being faced by students during the coronavirus epidemic.

"During the meeting, I directed @ugc_india to ensure all scholarships, fellowships are disbursed in time & start a helpline for the same. I also directed them to address the grievances of students immediately," the Minister also tweeted.