Subjective test in the second level of entrance exams-JEE Advanced will not be implemented for the 2014 exams

Updated on: Friday, August 23, 2013

Even as IITs were toying with the idea of having a subjective test in the second level of entrance exams-JEE Advanced-it will not be implemented for the 2014 exam. Senior officials said there will not be many changes in the pattern and format of that exam.

A senior IIT official said having a subjective test for IITs' entrance exam will require professors to manually evaluate answer papers. For an exam conducted in the first week of June, it is difficult to evaluate answer-sheets of many candidates and to come out with results by June-end. "It will delay the academic session across IITs. To conduct a subjective test for JEE-Advanced, the centre will have to conduct the JEE-Main exam in December and hold the JEE-Advanced in April. It will involve many logistical changes, which is not possible," said the official. But a final decision on retaining the pattern in next year's exam will only be taken after the JEE-Advanced 2014 chairman takes over the Joint Admission Board.

The board will meet on August 25 to discuss the 2013 exam, their experiences with the new format of a two-level exam and give recommendations for the 2014 exam. "Many officials believe there is no point in bringing about a change in one year. Any new system has to be given an opportunity for two-three years to sustain. In all probability, there will not be many changes this year," said an official.

IITs may increase the limit of candidates shortlisted from JEE-Main from 1.5 lakhs to two lakhs. "This year, out of 1.5 lakh candidates only 1.19 lakh finally wrote the JEE-Advanced exam. If we increase the limit to two lakhs, we may get the desired 1.5 lakh figure," said a professor.

Since the time a two-level exam was proposed in 2012, IITs were seeking a subjective test to improve the quality of candidates getting into the premier institutes. IIT-Bombay even proposed a format which will not have multiple choice questions, but will also not compel students to write long answers. In the multiple-choice test, it is difficult to determine the students' understanding of subjects, which is why professors opposed it. A right answer can be arrived at by smartly eliminating three wrong ones, said the professor.

Subjective test in the second level of entrance exams-JEE Advanced will not be implemented for the 2014 exams

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