JEE Main to be held twice a year from 2019

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will be conducting JEE Main twice a year from 2019. HRD Minister, Prakash Javadekar, recently announced that the national level engineering examination will be held twice a year from next year by the new testing agency.

The Union Cabinet approved the setting up of the National Testing Agency (NTA) in the year 2017 as an autonomous and self-sustained premier testing organisation. The agency, besides JEE Mains and NEET, will also conduct exams like UGC NET (National Eligibility Test), GPAT(Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test) and CMAT (Common Management Admission Test.

Prakash Javadekar, was quoted as saying, "The National Testing Agency will conduct them this year. The same student can take the exam both times a year and the best score will be counted", to a national daily. However, in a later development it has been decided that NEET 2019 will be conducted once a year only.

While JEE Main will be held in January and April, NEET will be held once in May 2019. Both the exams were being conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). It should be noted that IITs will continue to conduct JEE-Advanced.

JEE Main to be held by NTA will be computer based/online while NEET will be held offline. For the online test, computer centers will be established where students with no access to computers can practise from August-end or September. The Minister further said that the exams will be more secure and at par with international norms. There will be no issues of leakage and it would be more student friendly, open, scientific and a leak-proof system.

UGC NET was held twice a year in July and December. From December 2018 onwards, NET will likely be conducted once a year and will become the first exam to be conducted by the newly formed body.

There would be no change in the syllabus, neither would the exam cost more than what it did before.