IITs not in favour of 3rd attempt for JEE Advanced students, say won’t be fair to next batch
Education

IITs not in favour of 3rd attempt for JEE Advanced students, say won’t be fair to next batch

Students have been writing letters to IITs & education ministry for the last two months, requesting for a third attempt as their preparation was hampered due to the pandemic.

   
Students appearing for the JEE Mains in Kolkata in September 2020 | File image: ANI

File image of aspirants entering an exam centre for the JEE-Mains in Kolkata in September 2020 | ANI

New Delhi: The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are not in favour of allowing a third attempt at the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Advanced to students who have exhausted their attempts this year, ThePrint has learnt.

Students get only two attempts to sit for the JEE Advanced and three for JEE Mains. However, those who exhausted their attempts this year have been requesting the IITs to give them another chance next year.

According to students, an extra attempt should be allowed to them as their preparation was hampered due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown. The students have been writing letters to IITs and the Ministry of Education for the last two months in this regard. The latest was written on 16 November. 

This letter, addressed to all the IITs, stated that JEE-Advanced is a “career-defining” exam and, therefore, students who performed poorly because of the mental stress due to the pandemic should be allowed another attempt next year.

The IITs, however, do not agree with the students. 


Also read: January 2021 JEE Mains could be delayed due to Covid situation, but no plans to cancel


‘Will be unfair to those who will attempt the exam in 2021’

In an October meeting of the Joint Admissions Board (JAB), the body under the Ministry of Education that manages the JEE Advanced, it was decided that students who have missed out on writing the exam because of the lockdown or being Covid-positive will be given another chance. The JAB consists of IIT directors and other IIT officials. 

However, the JAB did not agree to giving another chance to students who had already attempted the exam. Sources in the JAB said there is consensus among members to not reconsider this decision. 

At least three JAB sources told ThePrint they have no intention to allow students for a third attempt at JEE Advanced as it will be unfair to those who are going to attempt the exam in 2021 and will also increase competition for the next batch of students.

“Students who wrote the exam in 2020, at least, got a chance to go to school physically until March. They also attended coaching classes physically and had better access to study material. In fact, they got extra time to study because the exams were delayed a lot,” said a JAB member, who has attended recent meetings on the subject.

“This is in complete contrast to students who are in school right now and are locked up in their homes. They have to do their school classes online, their coaching online. Things will not be easy for them when they attempt the exam in 2021,” the source said.

“All these factors were discussed in the JAB meeting (in October) and it was decided that we should not give another chance to students, who have exhausted their attempts,” he added.

A second JAB source said the Ministry of Education is also in favour of the decision.

When contacted, a ministry official told ThePrint: “We don’t impose our views on JAB decisions.”

Decision based on internal study

A third JAB source said, “The decision is also based on an internal study by all the IITs.

“Over the years, we have found out that the success rate to get into IITs is best for the first-timers. It starts to diminish by the time the student gives his/her second attempt. We have found that on an average, out of the students who make it to the IITs, 70-80 per cent are first-timers and the rest 20-30 per cent are second-timers. There is no scope left for a third attempt in that case.” 

A source from IIT-Kharagpur, the organising institute of JEE Advanced 2021, told ThePrint: “Whatever decision we had to take with regards to attempts has already been conveyed to students and their parents last month.”


Also read: How JEE caught Odisha ‘unprepared’ amid Covid and floods