JEE-Advanced: Exam authority issues circular to calm down anxious students

Questions were raised over the changes introduced to the exam this year — numerical-answer type questions instead of usual multiple choice questions (MCQs)

Following a series of complaints from candidates who appeared for Joint Entrance Examination-Advanced (JEE-Adv) on Sunday, exam organising authority issued a clarification on Monday to calm down anxious students.

More than 1.5 lakh students across India appeared for the first-ever completely online JEE-Adv on March 20. (Pic for representation)

Questions were raised over the changes introduced to the exam this year — numerical-answer type questions instead of usual multiple choice questions (MCQs). More than 1.5 lakh students across India appeared for the first-ever completely online JEE-Adv on March 20.

“Since there was no range mentioned in the questions, it was difficult to understand if our answer was correct. To make matters worse, certain sections of the paper were very lengthy, and many ended up attempting the paper with utmost uncertainty,” said Akshit Anand, a candidate.

According to experts, JEE-Adv candidates had to attempt 20-23 numerical-answer type questions in every section, and students were asked to enter the correct numerical value keeping in mind the rounded off decimal notation (rounded off to the second decimal place).

On Monday, the office of organising chairperson of JEE-Adv issued a circular. “Wherever applicable, depending on the question, answers will be evaluated by checking whether the answer by the candidate falls within a range of two values, with or without including the upper and lower values of the range depending on the question,” said the circular. It further states that all answers within a specific range will be acceptable (if the answer is 11.367777777…, all answers within a specific range like 11.36 or 11.37 will be accepted).

“This was the first year that the paper was conducted in a completely computer-based format, and students were anyway anxious. By changing paper pattern it added to their anxiety leaving many unhappy since they prepare for these exams for over two years,” said Mehernosh Patel, an expert and mentor to several Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) aspirants. Most students found the paper tougher than the last few years, especially the mathematics section. “The overall cut-offs will definitely drop this time,” he added.