Posted by Binu on Nov. 9, 2013, 4:50 p.m.
The JEE Board is considering changes in the examination schedule. At the moment the examination is held on the same day which may be divided over two days from next year.
"After biology was kept out from JEE 2013, we had increased the weightage of both physics and chemistry question papers from 50 marks each paper to 75 marks question paper. Till 2012, both physics and chemistry were combined into one paper of 100 marks. But after the two subjects were separated, it may not be re-combined into one again. The time allocated for both physics and chemistry could be one-and-a-half hours for each subject. Mathematics is a 100 marks question paper and has to be completed within two hours. If biology test is held on the same day, we will have to allocate 100 marks to the subject and two more hours to the exam. Altogether a candidate will have to spend 10 hours for JEE which is impossible. Hence, JEE from 2014 may be taken on two different days. At the moment reducing weightage of Physics and Chemistry from 75 marks to 50 marks is unlikely," said a source in the higher education department.
Moreover, several students appear for both medical and engineering joint entrance examinations. "Considering their plight, we may have the exams in two different days. On the first day, physics, chemistry and mathematics may be held while biology may be taken on the following day. Till 2012, Biology (100), Mathematics (100) and Physics, Chemistry (100) combined were held on the same day. For each paper two hours were allocated and one hour was resting time in between each subject paper," a JEE official said.
Large number of vacant seats in 2013 even after conducting four rounds of counselling has left the JEE administrators worried. Another major concern is the falling standard of the JEE aspirants. The Board may thus bring about changes in the question pattern.
The JEE Board now, sets three categories of questions. The first is one mark MCQ (multiple choice question), second is two marks MCQ with single correct answer) while the third is 2 marks MCQ with multiple correct answers.
The JEE board may increase the number of questions in the third category by decreasing questions from the other two categories. There is also a possibility of decreasing the total number of questions and increasing the difficulty level of all the questions.
"Till now, the JEE syllabus is based on West Bengal Higher Secondary syllabus. But many students from other boards like ICSE and CBSE also take the examination. Hence, we may urge the committee to combine the syllabus of all the three boards and prepare questions accordingly," a source said.