JEE (A) may have subjective paper in 2017

MUMBAI: IIT aspirants who cleared their class X exams this year may have to prepare for a subjective paper for their entrance test in 2017. The Joint Admission Board (JAB) of IITs is toying with the idea of having subjective questions in sections of the JEE (Advanced) paper. The idea is to test students on the understanding of the subject and reduce the element of 'guess work' by students, said a professor. The current format of the paper has only multiple choice questions (MCQs).

"Many students who clear JEE (A) do so by a stroke of luck. Students often arrive at the right answer by eliminating the wrong ones. These students are usually not strong with concepts. It is difficult to test their understanding with an MCQ format question paper," said a professor. The IITs were considering a similar format in 2013.

A professor from the JEE (A) 2015 organizing team, however, ruled out the possibility of a subjective section in the test. "We have brought in the subjective component in this year's paper by including many questions with integer-type answers. Also the increase in questions with negative marks and reducing -2 marks for every wrong answer has brought down the number of students who pass with guess work. Not many would have marked the right choice without knowing the answer," said the professor, adding that they are happy with the current format and do not intend to recommend a change.

If the questions are subjective, the premier institutes will have to change the evaluation system. "We will have to manually evaluate papers and 1.5 lakh is a large number. It will affect declaration of results on time," said the professor. IITs shortlist only top 1.5 lakh students from the JEE (Main) exam to appear for the JEE (A). Of which, less than 1.25 lakh students usually register for the test.

A JAB meeting will be held in August.

Devang Khakhar, director, IIT-Bombay, said nothing has been finalized. A coaching institute director said if IITs have to change the pattern, they will have to do it now, so that students get enough time to change their preparation methods.