Registrations to the first phase of Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Mains ended last week and the National Testing Agency (NTA) released data on the same late on Monday. Total registrations dipped by a small amount this year, compared to 2019 as 9.34 lakh candidates registered for the exam compared to 9.41 last year.
Figures further reveal that total registration in the open category has dropped by almost 90,000 candidates due to the inclusion of the economically weaker section (EWS) category, which was not included in the first phase of this exam in 2019, amounting for 81,000 registered students for the January 2020 session.
The exam will once again be held in two phases and in online format only, the first phase will take place between January 6 and 11, 2020. Results for the same will be announced by the end of January.
“The exam format and difficulty level will remain the same for both sessions. Students have given us very positive response after last year about this format,” said Vineet Joshi, director general, NTA.
Till 2018, JEE-Mains was held in only one session since its introduction in 2013. While the registrations stood at 11.89 lakh in 2018, the figure was 11.86 lakh in 2017. In 2016 and 2015, 12.07 lakh and 13.04 lakh students registered, respectively. Registrations had increased from 12.82 lakh in 2013 to 13.56 lakh in 2014.
Since last year, several attempts have been made by all IITs to attract more female students on board. HT had recently reported how most IITs had managed to fill in 17% or more of their first year batch with female students (as prescribed by the IIT Council) and in the 2020 batch, IITs should have at least 20% female students in their batch. Total female candidates registering for the first page of JEE mains had also gone up by a few thousands. From 2.75 lakh female candidates who appeared for the exam in January 2019, over 2.90 lakh female will be appearing for the January 2020 exam.
JEE Mains registrations over the years:
2013—12.82 lakh
2014—13.56 lakh
2015—13.04 lakh
2016—12.07 lakh
2017—11.86 lakh
2018—11.40 lakh
2019—9.41 lakh (phase 1), 9.35 lakh (phase 2)
From 2019, a JEE- aspirant has the choice of taking the exam twice (January and April cycles). While the difficulty level and exam pattern will remain similar to last few years, the exam will be conducted only in the online format. The exam is conducted over 14 days in each phase, specially designed to reduce cheating and manipulation during exams. Students are allowed to appear for either or both of the exam cycles and can choose to submit their best performance to be eligible for JEE-Advanced as well as other admissions.