‘This may affect JEE Main cut-off,’ says expert as aspirants react on scrapping of optional questions

Read | NTA Exam Calendar 2025 Live Updates: JEE Main, NEET, CUET registration, exam dates

Pranakrishna Das, a JEE aspirant from Hyderabad, was planning his study schedule around the flexibility that the optional questions provided in the recent years. “The ability to choose five questions out of 10 in section B gave us a cushion to skip topics we found difficult. Now, we will have to prepare for everything thoroughly, without any margin for error,” he said. Das, like many others, is recalibrating his preparation strategy following the announcement.

A student from NIT Silchar, who appeared in JEE Main 2021, said that aspirants who took the exam during the pandemic time had the advantage of choosing easier questions from the optional section, potentially boosting their scores. Those taking it in 2025 will not have that flexibility. He further said that students do rely on optional questions in JEE Main to manage time and maximize the scores.

“They could focus on JEE Main questions they found easier or more familiar, skipping the difficult ones in section B,” the NIT Silchar student added saying that the change makes the exam more uniform and may encourage students to focus on mastering all topics, but it reduces flexibility for managing time and difficulty preferences.

Many engineering students, especially those who started preparing during the pandemic, believe this will add more pressure. Sumanta Pathak, a second-year student at VIT and a former JEE Main candidate, recalled how the optional questions allowed him to focus on his strengths. “When I gave JEE in 2023, the optional questions helped me focus on the topics I was confident in. It definitely made time management easier. I feel for the current batch because they won’t have that advantage,” he said.

Pankaj Sijariya, chemistry faculty, Physics Wallah (PW) opines that this change is likely beneficial for students, as a higher total score previously resulted in increased cutoffs, costing a huge difference in ranks even for minor mistakes. “With this adjustment, a 99 percentile score that used to be around 200 marks, may now be achievable at around 170 marks, thereby reducing the pressure on students,” he added.

Another student, Sumit Yadav, who is doing his BTech from IIT Bombay, said that Covid batch students were at a disadvantage compared to those taking the exam in 2025 batch and therefore the change in pattern must be welcomed.

“The pandemic batch faced the lockdown brunt as compared to the 2025 batch due to the sudden shift to less effective online classes, limited opportunities for real-time doubt resolution, and the added stress of a reduced board syllabus while the JEE syllabus remained unchanged,” the IIT Bombay student said.

The change is seen as fair, returning to pre-Covid norms, as per Ujjwal Singh, founding CEO, Infinity Learn by Sri Chaitanya noted. The change, he added, helps distinguish between top and average students, ensuring a more accurate and fair ranking system, especially after inflated scores in 2024.

Sandeep Mehta, co-founder of Vidyamandir Classes said that students should now focus on thorough subject mastery, address weak areas and practice time management.

“Balanced practice across all topics, regular revision, and mock tests should be the key,” he added saying that this change makes the exam harder, as students must now solve all questions, including difficult ones, requiring a deeper understanding of the entire syllabus.

With the discontinuation of optional questions, the JEE Main 2025 exam structure will return to its pre-Covid format, where section B of each subject will consist of five mandatory numerical-type questions. The change applies to Paper 1 (BE/BTech), Paper 2A (BArch), and Paper 2B (BPlanning). As the registration process for JEE Main 2025 is set to open soon, both aspirants and coaching institutes are bracing for the challenges ahead. While the NTA maintains that the decision aligns with the post-pandemic landscape, the true test will come when students face the revised format next year.