Case Study: JEE Main instead of JEE Advanced for admission to IITs this year

Will both JEE Main and JEE Advanced be conducted for admission to IITs this year? Will the IITs accept students on the basis of JEE Main ranks? Will JEE Advanced be online this year? All these questions have been bothering engineering aspirants since the nationwide lockdown has been imposed.

 The lockdown, imposed to curb the spread of Coronavirus, has affected almost everything across the country. The education sector, which is no different, has had a major impact as the lockdown happened during the most crucial time in the life of a student. March and April are months when a student writes the final examinations, prepares and appears for the entrance examinations, sits for the placement drives, among many other important things. But, the COVID-19 outbreak has turned everything topsy-turvy this year.

As we know that all the examinations are some way or the other dependent on each other, hence, at times, it becomes difficult to break the chain. If one exam gets rescheduled/cancelled, it will hamper the next in line. So is the case with one of the major engineering entrance examinations in the country— JEE Main. It is followed by JEE Advanced, the gateway to the premier institutes of the country, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). JEE Main 2020 April session has been postponed in the wake of Coronavirus and so is the JEE Advanced 2020 examination. Considering the prevailing conditions, conducting JEE Main followed by JEE Advanced would be a very strenuous process for the students as well as the management as the academic calendar has already been burdened and there is still no clarity on when the lockdown will be lifted.

Lakhs of students appear for JEE Main every year, in a desire to get into IITs, but only a few are able to secure high scores in the entrance examination and qualify for JEE Advanced examination. Basis the rank secured in JEE Advanced, candidates get admission in the IITs.

JEE Main 2020 January session saw 9,21,261 registrations, of which 8,69,010 appeared for the examination. After the JEE Main 2020 April session is conducted, the best of the two scores will be calculated and the JEE Main Result 2020 will be declared. The top 2,50,000 candidates will then be eligible to sit for JEE Advanced 2020, as per the decision by Joint Admission Board (JAB). Approximately 14,000 seats would be up for grabs in the participating IITs.

In 2019, the 23 participating IITs offered 13,853 seats for BTech admissions through JEE Advanced.

JEE Main as a gateway to IITs

With everything getting delayed, it would be fruitful in a number of ways, to consider only JEE Main scores as the gateway for admission to IITs. This can be done by doing away with the JEE Advanced 2020 examination, for the current academic year, in the light of the Coronavirus outbreak.

Compensation for loss of time

Having JEE Main instead of JEE Advanced this year, would not only reduce the stress on the students but would also help the institutes in compensating for the loss of time. The institutes would be able to start with their sessions as early as possible, by following suit of other institutes, i.e. by resorting to e-classrooms.

Little or no access to internet for preparation

Many students have been preparing for the exam while sitting at home, without being able to study in groups. This, in turn, leaves the students with less exposure and hampers their preparation. Although the study material is available online, the exposure a student gets in group studies with peers is higher than that obtained through the internet. Group studying always leads to a healthy debate between the students which is beneficial for them in numerous ways. They can also get their doubts clarified with the teachers easily face-to-face rather than on the internet or by any other means. Students find it difficult to access the internet, in case of a poor connection.

Limited preparation time for JEE Advanced

After the lockdown is lifted, and the new exam dates are decided upon, the gap between both the exams—JEE Main and JEE Advanced, would be very less. This would be very strenuous for students who have to prepare for everything in a short span of time. This, in turn, could result in low performance in the examination, for which they have been preparing for a long time now.

No loss of classes

Using JEE Main 2020 scores would also help in breaking the long dependency chain of the examinations and the academic calendar need not be altered. Skipping JEE Advanced would mean early allocation of seats and conduct of classes, thereby reducing a lot of stress and pressure on students and management alike.

“Students should be given admission on the basis of JEE Main instead of JEE Advanced this year as it would reduce pressure and would be an easier option for both the students and the conducting body,” said Landa Jitendra, JEE Main 2020 Topper January session. He also mentioned how his batch mates are having a tough time right now as they hail from rural areas and it becomes difficult for them at times to prepare because of poor internet connectivity.

Also Read: JEE Main 2020 Topper: Know how Landa Jitendra scored 100 percentile

Possibility of further delays

JEE Main 2020 April session, which was earlier scheduled for April 5, 7, 8, 9 and 11, 2020, has now been postponed due to the outbreak of COVID-19, which has also affected the schedule of JEE Advanced, which was scheduled to take place on May 17, 2020. The JEE Main has been delayed at least till early June and so the classes are likely to start in August end or September beginning. There is also a high possibility of further delays as the cases are increasing rapidly in India, on a daily basis.

JEE Advanced will be rescheduled only after the JEE Main 2020 dates are announced, as JEE Advanced examination is the prerequisite to entering the IITs.
As per the official announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the lockdown is imposed till May 3, 2020. However, there is a possibility of further extension of the lockdown, as uplifting it at this time wouldn’t contribute in flattening the rising COVID-19 curve.

Chain of Dependency

In normal times, as per the academic calendar, the JEE Main Result 2020 would have been declared by April end and the registrations for JEE Advanced would have begun by May 2. The JEE Advanced 2020 examination was scheduled to take place on May 17, 2020. Now, with the JEE Main April session 2020 exam being postponed, the future of everything linked with it stands unclear. The students will have to wait until the JEE Main Result 2020 is announced. JEE Main 2020 examination, as per the HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank,’ is likely to take place in June. Thereafter, JEE Advanced registrations 2020 would commence. JEE Advanced Results are generally declared three weeks after JEE Main exam, which in these times, pushes the date to July end or the beginning of August. The counselling will then take place in August, which is generally the time of admission closure.

Also Read: JEE Main 2020 for April Session is likely to be held in June: HRD Minister

The admissions to the next level of institutions—the National Institutes of Technology (NITs), Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) and CFTIs would effectively happen only after the conducting authority publishes the merit list, thereby extending the chain of dependency.

As the students have to go through such a filtering and a continuous process to get into IITs, the conducting body can also consider standardising the process of admissions to save time and shorten the academic calendar. It would also help in reducing the burden on the students and the management.

Also, the Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE) is yet to conduct some of its examinations. While CBSE 10^thexaminations have been successfully conducted, a few CBSE 12^th examinations are pending. Authorities must also ensure that the dates of remaining board exams don’t clash with the JEE Main dates.

Conducting JEE Advanced online: Pros and Cons

There’s also an option of conducting JEE Advanced 2020 online from home, as it would save a lot of time. But, everything comes with pros and cons. So, if JEE Advanced is conducted online from home, many students who hail from the rural areas wouldn’t be at par with students from urban areas. Rural areas have a poor internet connection and it would be unfair on their part to conduct the examination online, without proper internet access. Also, the students living in cities have good technical exposure and have a better hand at these online examinations.  

With more clarity on JEE Main 2020 examination, students are anxious to know what holds for them in future. The status of both the examinations will only be notified after the lockdown is lifted on May 3, if not further extended. Meanwhile, students are advised not to panic and continue with their preparations and check for the latest updates on JEE Main 2020 examination through the official website.

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