Union Human Resource Development Ministry introduced JEE Main and JEE Advanced in 2013 by replacing AIEEE and IIT JEE respectively for admission to various engineering colleges such as IITs, NITs, IIITs and GFTIs. Unlike JEE Main and Advanced, there was no link between the performance of students in AIEEE and IIT JEE, which were separate exams.
JEE MAIN at its commencement in 2013
JEE Main was brought as a filter process in 2013, in which 50% weightage was given to the candidate’s score in the class 12 Board exams.
For NIT’s and other government aided institutions, 40% weightage was given to marks secured in the class 12 Board exam, 30% to performance in JEE-MAIN and 30% to JEE Advanced. Whereas for students seeking admission to Indian Institute of Technology, 50% weightage was given to Board Results and JEE Main. Based on JEE Main result, top 50,000 candidates were selected for JEE Advanced. Admission to IITs was determined by a candidate’s performance in JEE Advanced, after taking into account their performance in boards as well as JEE Main.
People were concerned that with this this change, the burden on students would increase.
Changes brought in JEE MAIN 2014 counselling:
In order to make the counselling and admission process candidate friendly and reduce the apprehensions and inconvenience associated with admissions, changes were introduced in JEE Main Counselling.
2014’s online counselling process involved four steps for seat allotment in comparison to three rounds in 2013. Post the completion of the fourth step, spot admission followed. This helped in reducing the gap between the date of completion of counselling process and the date of commencement of classes. To further ease out the counselling process, many Reporting/Help Centers were set up across the country.
Formation of JoSAA in 2016
From 2016, the ministry of HRD established JoSAA (Joint Seat Allocation Authority) for allocation of seats in NITs and IITs prior to which the CBSE had the seat allocation authority. JoSSA was set up by the Ministry of Human Resources Development to manage and regulate the joint seat allocation for admissions to 97 institutes from 2016 onwards. Admission to the academic programs offered by IIT’s, NIT’s, IIIT’s and other Government Funded Institutes were facilitated through a single platform. Students could choose between online and offline test.
Changes brought in by MHRD in 2017
Ministry of Human Resource Development introduced various changes in 2017 such as no weightage being given to class 12th marks for calculating All India Rank (AIR) in JEE Main. Candidates securing 75% marks (65% for SC/ST) in 12th or being in top 20 percentile in class 12th examination conducted by respective boards, along with qualification in JEE Advanced will be eligible for admission to IITs, NITs, IIITs, CFTIs. Earlier, class 12th marks played an important role in JEE Main, but from 2017 onwards this system was changed.
Also, Aadhaar Card was made mandatory to fill the application form for JEE Main, except for candidates from Meghalaya, J & K and Assam who may enter passport number, ration card number, bank account number or any other valid Government identity number to get examination center in these states only.
What to expect in 2018?
It may so happen that JEE Main 2018 will be held multiple times in a year, however no official announcement has been made regarding the same. This has been proposed so that the candidates can appear for the test whenever they are fully prepared, rather than having to wait for an entire year. Not only this, but the best score among all the attempts will be considered for AIR. If it so happens, students will get a very good chance to clear JEE Main and pass with flying colors.
The government is also planning to introduce a separate agency to manage the examinations named the National Testing Agency (NTA). The exams presently being conducted by CBSE will then be organized by NTA.
2017 was the last year when JEE Main was conducted offline. From 2018, JEE Main will only be organized in online mode and the candidates will have to prepare likewise. Because of this, around one million candidates will be able to appear in this examination. Test centers across the country are being prepared to conduct this examination. This change will help the students from rural areas to give the examination without any hurdles.
In spite of the changes mentioned above, the exam pattern of JEE Main has not changed over the last five years. The duration for JEE Main exam is still three hours and comprises of three subjects that are Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics. Syllabus for this exam has remained to be from class 11th and 12th. 30 questions are asked from each subject and 4 marks are provided for each correct answer and one negative mark for each wrong answer.