5.1 lakh students to sit for last IIT-JEE on Sunday

5.1 lakh students to sit for last IIT-JEE on Sunday

The last-ever IIT-JEE examination will be conducted on Sunday with 5.1 lakh students appearing for the entrance test from across the country. This will be the last batch where admission to an IIT will depend solely on this examination. Batches hereafter will have to study equally hard for the board examinations which will carry 40% weightage in the new test pattern. The Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination (IIT-JEE) is a national level exam for admission into the top technology institutes across the country. Starting next year, it will be replaced by the Indian Science Engineering Eligibility Test (ISEET) — a common admission test for engineering institutes across India. Of the 5.1 lakh candidates appearing for IIT-JEE across the country, only 77,550 will be from the Bombay zone, much lower than previous year’s figure of 85,000. But according to AV Mahajan, chairman, IIT-JEE, Bombay zone, the fall in numbers could be because of the transfer of the Udaipur centre from the Bombay zone to the Delhi zone. However, the number of female candidates has increased significantly to 27% from 19% in the previous year. Sachin T, an IIT-JEE candidate, said, “We are fortunate that the pattern is changing only next year. Students prepare for IIT-JEE from Class 8 itself. So students who will appear for the IIT-JEE next year will certainly be affected.” Praveen Tyagi, managing director, IIT-ians’ Pace, a coaching institute for students preparing for IIT-JEE, said, “Next year, it will definitely be difficult for students to juggle college and entrance exam preparations.” Prof Ravindra Nadkarni, dean of academics, Vidyalankar Institute of Technology, said, “Doing reasonably well in Class 12 will no longer be enough. Students will have to excel.” The IIT-JEE results are to be declared on or after May 18. Candidates will be able to check their answers on May 7 when the right answers will be uploaded on the website. Students will have a copy of their answer-sheet making it convenient for students to assess their performance.