Changes in JEE Mains 2019

The Joint Entrance Examination is a national level entrance test for admissions into engineering colleges across India. The exam is conducted in two parts-JEE Mains and JEE Advanced. JEE was introduced in the year 2012 by the CBSE, replacing the All India Engineering Entrance Examination for admissions into National Institute of Technology (NITs), Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), and other centrally funded technical institutes.

As mentioned earlier the JEE is conducted at two levels - JEE Mains and JEE Advanced. The JEE Mains is written by all engineering aspirants seeking admissions into centrally funded Engineering colleges. The admissions for National Institute of Technology and the Indian Institute of information technology is carried out based on the marks obtained by candidates in the JEE Mains exam. Admissions for IITs and some other institutes like the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs), Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, and the Indian Institute of Science use the score obtained in JEE Advanced as the basis for admission. Only those candidates who clear the JEE Mains are permitted to write JEE Advanced.

JEE Mains

The JEE mains is conducted as two papers :

• Paper 1 is conducted in both offline and online modes and is specifically for the B.E and B.Tech applicants.

• Paper 2 is conducted only in the offline mode and is for the B.Arch and B.Planning applicants.

The JEE Mains pattern has remained more or less unchanged since its introduction,
the pattern is as follows -

JEE Mains Existing pattern

JEE Advanced:

Candidates those who clear the JEE Mains are eligible for JEE Advanced. A total of 2,24,000 candidates had given their advanced exams in the year 2018. JEE Advanced is conducted by any one of the IITs every year, the exam was conducted by IIT Kharagpur in 2018 and the exam was fully online.

The pattern of JEE Advanced undergoes changes every year as it is conducted by different Institutions.

Expected changes in 2019, Formation of the National Testing Agency (NTA):

Since 2012 the Central board of secondary education has been conducting the JEE exams and many more nationally conducted entrance/eligibility tests such as NEET, CTET etc. The Ministry of Human Resource Development had made an announcement Regarding the formation of the National Testing Agency, which will gradually take over the responsibility of conducting National Level test from CBSE, IITs and other institutions.

The setting up of the NTA had been approved by the Cabinet committee at the end of the previous year itself. It is expected that post-formation the NTA would be tasked with conducting the JEE Mains in 2019.

The formation of National Testing Agency or NTA is in line with the announcement made by the Honourable Finance Minister in the Annual Budget 2017- 2018. This move has been undertaken to ensure international standards in the screening process by establishing a dedicated institution for conducting tests and to reduce the burden on the Central Board of Secondary Education which at present conducts both school level exams and National level entrance tests.

As mentioned earlier this would relieve CBSE of multiple responsibilities, such as having to manage competitive exams along with 10th and 12th board exams each year. Also, a centralized agency will bring in a level of reliability in conducting examinations, with greater accuracy and transparency in the evaluation process. Conducting the exams through the online mode renders certain logistical benefits printing and transportation of exam papers will not be required. The initiative would also facilitate digitisation of other offline exams in the near future.

A central organization will also ensure the standardized level of difficulty of the exam across various slots, dates and languages. When the air clears up, we’ll also get to know whether the students will be allowed to appear for the exam twice in the same year. That is, those who could not clear the JEE Mains in their first attempt will be given a second chance to appear for the exam in the same year, unlike the present scenario where they have to wait an entire year for a second attempt.

In the year 2017, there were proposals to scrap all state level engineering entrance exams and conduct one national level exam for entry into all engineering colleges across states. This would lead to a standardised level of evaluation for all aspiring engineers, the idea was inspired by the successful implementation of NEET. The NTA could possibly be tasked with the conducting of this exam, but it is unlikely that this proposal would be carried out for the year 2019 as it would be a huge responsibility for an organisation like NTA in its infancy. However, a single entrance for engineering will be introduced in the next few years.

As per reports, even the IITs are not too excited about the proposal of letting NTA conduct the JEE Mains for the year 2019. Their primary concern is that NTA is still very young and has not had any operational experience as yet. The officials, however, decided not to make any serious comments and just added that all the IITs would meet to consider the proposal. The IITs have been given the time till December 15, 2018 to assess and revert.

Get personalised online tutoring for JEE from the comfort of your home. Request your first lesson at Vidyalai.