iTs My PASSiON: 2012

History

The JEE was conducted for the first time in 1960, when it had four subjects including an English language paper. The examination has since evolved considerably from its initial pattern. The JEE was initially called as the Common Entrance Exam (CEE). The CEE coincides with the IIT Act of 1961, to later named as JEE.

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 XIIth 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.

In 2008, the Indian Institutes of Technology, for the first time, went overseas with their entrance examination as they set up a centre for the competitive test in Dubai. The number of candidates appearing in Dubai hovered around 200 to 220.

Changes in JEE

In 2010 the Ministry of Human Resource Development announced plans to replace JEE by 2013 with a common engineering entrance examination. While per the decision of the ministry on 20 May 2012, the exam is to be introduced starting in 2013, discussions about the timing and format are still ongoing.

Latest edition

In 2012, IIT JEE was conducted on 8 April, for which over 520,000 students had appeared for about 10,000 engineering seats across India.[10] Result of JEE 2012 with All India Ranks (AIRs) has been declared on 18 May 2012.

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 and the Indian School of Mines. Other institutes using JEE scores in their admission process include Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology, Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research,[citation needed] Indian Maritime University,[citation needed] Indian Institute of Science and LNM Institute of Information Technology.

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) and kept confidential. 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 very few people.

The IIT JEE consists of 2 question papers each covering 3 subjects including Physics, Chemistry and Maths. While most questions are objective - there are different categories. A few questions have only one correct answer, whereas others may have one or more correct answers. There are also some match the following questions, and numerical response questions, whereby the candidates are required to calculate the answer (a numerical one) and enter the corresponding number by darkening the appropriate digits. In the past, the IITs have experimented with passage-based comprehension type questions, as opposed to a dry problem similar to that in other examinations. In these passages, the onus is on the elucidation of the underlying scientific principles behind a phenomenon or a theory, and it's application to other scenarios defined by the problems. While some of the concepts introduced may have already been studied by the students, this kind of question allows the IITs to introduce a higher, more complex topic which students would not have come across, thereby negating any advantage gained by rote learning.

The answer sheet is an ORS i.e. Optical Response Sheet in which the candidate is required to darken the bubble with a black pen against the right answer. The ORS is actually a duplex sheet, with an underlying copy that takes impressions of the candidate's responses. This can then be retained by the candidate to check his response against the correct answers.

The marking scheme for the answers discourages random guessing by allotting a negative mark for wrong answers. The value of this penalty is usually about one-third the value awarded for a correct answer. Unanswered questions have always been awarded zero marks. The negative marking usually does not apply to numerical responses (where numbers near the correct answer are also credited - due to inherent errors in approximation - given that JEE candidates are not allowed the use of calculators), and match-the-following type questions.

History

The test was announced by the Government of India and would be held for the first time in May 2013 across India for students seeking admission into Medicine, both Undergraduate and Postgraduate.

NEET UG

NEET for Under Graduate exam would be conducted by the CBSE, to be held for the first time in May 2013. Negative marking would not be used in next year's proposed MBBS entrance examination to reduce the marks but resorted to only to break a tie between candidates securing the same marks.
The core syllabus for NEET UG is out and is available on Medical Council of India website.

NEET PG

The common entrance test (CET) for admission to Medical Post-graduate Courses across the country i.e. NEET PG for Postgraduate Courses such as MD/MS/Diploma shall be held in Jan-Feb 2013 for admissions in the academic year 2013-2014.
Syllabus

The syllabus for NEET-PG is that of MBBS described in the MCI Regulations on Graduate Medical Education, 1997. The multiple choice questions (MCQs) would be based on the MBBS syllabus as well as the knowledge that needs to be acquired during internship which is also described in the said Regulations. The distribution of questions, model questions and method of tie breaking for ranking would be placed on the website in the due course.