The
Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination (popularly known as
IIT-JEE or just
JEE) is an annual college entrance examination in
India. It is used as sole admission criterion by the sixteen
Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) as well as other institutes. The examination is organised each year by one of the various IITs, using a
round robin rotation pattern. It has a very low admission rate (about 1 in 50 in 2011).
The JEE was organised in 2010 (on April 11) by
IIT Madras, and results were released on May 26, 2010.
[citation needed]
The 2011 examination was organised by IIT-K on April 10, with over
485,000 registered participants, and its results were announced on May
25, 2011.
[1] The IIT-JEE 2012 will be organised by IIT-D on April 8, 2012.
The JEE has been noted for originality in its questions
[citation needed].
History
The JEE was conducted for the first time in 1960,
[2] when it had four subjects including an
English language paper. The examination has since evolved considerably from its initial pattern.
In 1997, the JEE was conducted twice after the question paper was leaked in some centers.
Between 2000 and 2005, an additional screening test was used
alongside the main examination, intended to reduce pressure on the main
examination by allowing only about 20,000 top candidates to sit the
paper, out of more than 450,000 applicants.
In September 2005, an analysis group of directors of all the IITs
announced major reforms to the examination. These were implemented from
2006 onwards. The revised test now consists of a single objective test,
replacing the earlier two-test system. In order to be eligible for the
main examination, candidates in the general category must secure a
minimum of 60% aggregated marks in the qualifying examination of the XII
th standard organized by various educational boards of India, while candidates belonging to
Scheduled Caste (SC),
Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Physically Disabled (PD) categories must secure a minimum of 55%.
In 2008, the Director and the Dean of
IIT Madras
called for revisions to the examination, arguing that the coaching
institutes were "enabling many among the less-than-best students to
crack the test and keeping girls from qualifying". They expressed
concern that the present system did not allow for applicants' 12 years
of schooling to have a bearing on admissions into IITs.
[3]
In 2010 the
Ministry of Human Resource Development announced plans to replace JEE by 2013 with a common entrance test for all government engineering colleges.
[4]
Institutes admitting through JEE
A total of seventeen colleges use JEE as sole criterion for admission to their undergraduate programs, namely the sixteen
Indian Institutes of Technology, (including
Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University) and the
Indian School of Mines. In addition, the
Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research,
Indian Maritime University and
Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology also admit students via the JEE (Extended Merit List), and the
Indian Institute of Science uses JEE scores as one of the possible admission criteria.
Candidates who qualify in the examination can apply for admission to the BArch (
Bachelor of Architecture), BDes (
Bachelor of Design), BTech (
Bachelor of Technology), Dual Degree (
Integrated Bachelor of Technology and
Master of Technology), Integrated MSc (
Master of Sciences) and Integrated MSc(Tech) (
Master of Sciences and Technology) courses in the various institutes.
Current examination format
The current pattern, which has been followed since 2006, consists of
two objective-type papers each containing mathematics, physics and
chemistry sections. The syllabus of the examination is predominantly
based on topics covered by the
CBSE Board Examination (AISSCE) and the
ISC
Board Examination. The pattern of questions in JEE is deliberately
variable so as to minimize the chance of students getting selected by
'cramming' revision of probable questions. As the questions are
objective,
Optical mark recognition
answer sheets have been used since 2006. The current pattern is
intended to reduce stress on applicants; in previous years, there were
separate maths, physics and chemistry papers, each of two hours'
duration, that contained both subjective and objective questions.
Given the importance attached to the JEE by students all over India,
the IITs follow a rigorous procedure when conducting it every year. The
exam is set by the JEE Committee (consisting of a group of faculty
members drawn from the admitting colleges) under tight security
[citation needed].
Multiple sets of question papers are framed and the set that is to
actually be used on the day of the exam is known to only about five
individuals
[citation needed].
The IIT Jee examination consists of 2 question papers each covering 3
subjects including Physics, Chemistry and Maths. The entrance exam is
filled up with the Objective questions. The answer sheet is ORS ie.
Optical Response Sheet in which the candidate is required to darken the
bubble with a black pen against the right answer.
The format is avid and would be followed throughout the conduction of
IIT Jee 2012.
Seats and attendance
The number of students taking the examination has increased
substantially each year with over 485,000 showing up for IIT-JEE 2011.
This represented an increase of 30,000 students (6.5%) from 2010.
[1]
The availability of seats in recent years is as shown below:
From 2008, six new IITs have been opened with 120 seats each,
increasing the total number of seats to almost 7000. For 2009,
admissions have been made to two more IITs, namely IIT Indore and IIT
Mandi (Himachal Pradesh) taking the seat count to almost 8300. As of
2011, with additional courses in several old and new IITs, the total
seat count has crossed 9600.
Eligibility
The age limit for sitting the JEE is 25 years. For candidates belonging to
SC,
ST and PD categories, the relaxed age limit is 30 years.
Also, since 2007, candidates have been allowed to take the JEE a
maximum of twice. This change was intended to reduce stress on
applicants, and to discourage the concept of 'cram schools'. Also since
2007, students selected for admission to an IIT and paid the accepting
fee, cannot attempt the examination again in the future.
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