Here’s what IIT Guwahati did differently in JEE Advanced 2023

Here are some excerpts from the interview:

Q: As the Organising Chairman of JEE Advanced 2023, how do you think the exam was this year?

A: As per my analysis, I would say this was a good year for JEE Advanced. This entrance exam is conducted for a large number of people at national level, so there are bound to be some issues, especially at the last moment and as organisers we should be prepared to handle them well, and I think we did that. A few issues that would have been spotted were not critical and were solved within minutes.

One of the main issues this year, though, was the tough situation in Manipur. That was really difficult and put us in a difficult situation as to how to conduct the exam for candidates of that region. But we made sure that we do not cancel their exam and even though the environment was not supportive, we contacted each and every candidate and allowed them to choose some other nearby location where they were able to appear for the exam. Each and every candidate was personally contacted by our team, and it was ensured that they were able to appear for the exam.

There were a handful of cheating cases spotted in Hyderabad, though, this time where students were able to sneak in their mobile phones in the exam hall. How did this security lapse take place?

A: One case happened in Hyderabad where some students were able to sneak in their mobile phones by hiding it inside their shoes and some other parts of the body too, and that is why the metal detectors were not able to detect the devices. But if you notice, security and officials communicated quickly and caught the devices of those involved. The culprits were taken into custody for questioning and an investigation was immediately launched into this.

However, this was an isolated case. For the question of how this security lapse takes place, there are some things that are not in our control at all times. We have protocols and security measures in place that were diligently followed. Also, the exam is conducted by a third party company since the number of candidates is high.

Do you think stricter dress codes are needed for JEE Advanced, just like JEE Main and NEET exams?

We already have dress code-related guidelines in the current JEE exam admit card guidelines. Considering we have rich cultural/ religious diversity in our country, having stricter dress codes can create some issues. The current guidelines are sufficient to address related concerns.

When it comes to technical glitches, IIT Guwahati was able to conduct the JEE Advanced smoothly – something that the NTA could not do for JEE Main, NEET, CUET etc. What measures were taken to ensure this?

A: In the past, there have been some technical issues such as candidates not being able to see the questions properly due to computer screen settings etc, but our team took care of those issues. We took different sizes of monitors and tested them out first. We ensured that students would be able to check all text properly and there would be no issues with the zooming of text. We also made sure that the questions are designed in such a way that they fit into the screen, and students don’t have to scroll on the screen too much, i.e. we try the questions fit more or less on a single page on a 15-inch monitor.

Also, in other places, we face power cuts but we ensured avoid such situations in advance. We keep backups ready, one from us and one from our company partner TCS site. Our teams visited each and every institute and checked the infrastructure. Also, we calculated which areas have frequent power cuts and conducted the whole exam on DG (distributed generation) supply.

When it comes to exams conducted by NTA, the participation for those exams is much higher than JEE Advanced, so it gets difficult for them to conduct it without any glitches. Some slip-ups happen. In terms of JEE Advanced specifically, hosting IITs usually pass on their feedback and notes to the next organiser, and then the next team takes care of those issues.

Students have alleged that there have been some delays in release of question papers, answer keys, etc. What caused the delay?

There was a slight delay in release of admit cards this time but that was just because a lot of students tried to log in at the same time, which caused a slight delay in the operation of the website. The website was slow only for an hour in the beginning, but it worked smoothly after that and students were able to get their hall tickets easily.

Then there was half a day delay in uploading the question paper, which was because there were some students from the disabled category who finished their exam late, and we could only upload the question paper after everyone had appeared for the exam. So, we could not upload the question paper on the same day as the exam, and the process was completed the next day. We could have been better prepared for it, surely, but we managed all right. Other than that, there was only a delay of 15-20 minutes for uploading the answer key, but we extended the deadline for submission of objections against the answer key to make up for that slight delay.

So, should students expect a delay in result declaration too?

No, we are trying our best to upload the JEE Advanced scorecards at the given date and time. Students may face some speed issues in the first few minutes as everyone tries to log in at the same time. We will take all the precautions we can, but I would request students to have patience and check their scorecards patiently.

Which IIT will organise JEE Advanced 2024?

IIT Madras will host the exam next year.

This time, there was an increase in the number of students appearing for JEE Advanced. Was there some specific measure taken by IIT Guwahati for this?

We ensured that students have enough time to register for the Advanced exam after the JEE Main result was declared. This time, students had almost three days extra, as compared to last year. Earlier this was not possible as they had the exam scheduled soon after. However, our team ensured that we started the registration process on time, which gave enough time for candidates to make up their minds, fill out the form, and submit the fees and the application form. After that, the organising team had enough time to check all details and issue admit cards and then conduct the exam.

JEE Advanced 2023 | AIR 1 | AIR 2 | AIR 3 | AIR 4 | Female topper | Overall analysis | 

Another reason might be that since this is the year when things are finally back to normal after Covid, students were able to appear for the JEE Advanced exam this time — those who were eligible.

A hot topic of discussion this time was the 75 per cent eligibility criteria. Students were angry with the way the criteria was re-implemented as they demanded more time…

This eligibility criteria was brought back this year and is not something that is new. We have to bring back the system to its normal scenario, as it was conducted in 2019. And there is not just the 75 per cent criteria, but also the top 20 percentile point. If someone fails to qualify through the 75 per cent criteria, the other one was also available for them.

When it comes to students feeling unfair on the re-implementation of this, students were aware that this was an eligibility criteria that was paused for a couple of years. The expert committee analysed the need for it and decided that it was time this criteria was brought back. students were given enough time to make their plans, and I think that whenever this was brought back, students would have protested the same way.

There have been cases where students have taken extreme steps after they could get their desired result in JEE exams. With the result around the corner, what would be your advice to students?

We have 23 IITs and our seats are limited, but the number of candidates appearing for JEE Main is around 11 lakh and around 2 lakh for JEE Advanced exam, so the competition is intense, and not every student might be able to achieve their dream. I would request students to not lose their heart and try other options too. There are several other private engineering institutes that provide good courses.

If IIT is your ultimate choice, you can always try next year, but never lose your heart, and don’t be demoralised. Look for other options and keep trying.