SHUBHANGI SHIFA
Ranchi, Feb 28: The National Testing Agency (NTA) has decided to conduct the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE Main) this year in April and May only. This means that candidates appearing for JEE Main 2022 will get only two attempts, unlike last year when they got four attempts, reported India Today. NTA is yet to announce the official dates for JEE Main 2022. Notably, JEE Main exam is a multi-session computer-based test that is conducted for admission to some of the top institutes in the country such as the IITs.
Speaking on the issue, Murlidhan, CMD, Champ Square, a coaching institute, on Monday expressed relief over the announcement. “Last year students were much more engaged with the four exams that were conducted for JEE Mains, which diverted them from preparing for JEE Advanced exams. Initially, only two exams were conducted, but last year the four attempts were allowed due to the pandemic,” the teacher added.
He further continued stating, “This time, I believe students won’t suffer a loss. In fact, I think students will have more time to prepare for JEE Advanced. The four exams also delay the Advanced exams, further delaying the academic cycle.”
Anish Raj (19) said, “I dropped a year after Class XII to prepare for JEE. I attempted four times last year. During my preparation, when there were two attempts, I noticed that the competition was comparatively lower as compared to preparing when four attempts were available. Papers during the four attempts were easier, but irregular.”
His friend Kamya Singh (18), on the other hand, said, “The decision to allow four attempts was aimed at helping students during the Covid 19 pandemic. I believe we should also have been given the same opportunity as we have also suffered the brunt of the pandemic all this year.”
Notably, after increasing the number of attempts to four for 2021, the NTA has now cut it down to 2 attempts.
Meanwhile, prior to 2019, Jee Main was conducted only once a year. In 2019, the number of attempts was hiked to two and in 2021, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was further increased to four. The candidates had the opportunity to submit their best scores out of the four attempts for admission to engineering institutes in the country.
