Is Offline JEE Main Returning? Panel Flags Serious NTA Issues
After multiple failures by NTA while conducting the exams in 2024, a standing parliamentary committee has suggested a push for rolling back the computer-based tests to traditional pen-and-paper-based tests. Read the complete story below.
Is Offline JEE Main Returning? Panel Flags Serious NTA Issues
According to reports, a standing parliamentary committee has highlighted that in 2024, at least five out of the 14 competitive exams held by the NTA faced major problems. Exams like CSIR NET, UGC NET, and NEET UG were postponed. Also, NEET UG had controversies like paper leaks, and CUET (UG/PG) saw the postponement of the results. Apart from that, the panel also highlights failures of NTA in JEE Main exam in 2025, where at least 12 questions had to be withdrawn from the final answer keys due to errors.
Will JEE Main go offline?
As of now, taking the exams offline is just a recommendation by the Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports. They have recommended the exams to be held following the models of CBSE and UPSC exams that have remained leak-proof for several years.
Between the computer-based test mode and the pen-and-paper-based mode, the panel supported pen-and-paper-based tests. It recommended NTA to study the pattern followed by CBSE and UPSC and try to implement them in its exams.
Further, the panel recommends CBT exams to be hosted only in government or government-controlled centres.
Commonly asked questions
No, there is no change in JEE Main 2026 total number of questions and marking scheme. It is the same as pervious year.
JEE Main 2026 exam pattern has been released by the NTA. As per exam pattern, the JEE Main Paper 1 (BE/B.Tech) exam will consist of 75 questions, 25 each from Physics Chemistry and Mathematics. Out of 25 questions, 20 will be MCQs and 5 will be NAV. Students need to answer all 75 questions. JEE Main paper 2A for B.Arch consists of 77 questions of which 25 are from Mathematics, 50 from General Aptitude and 2 from Drawing. In Paper 2B for BPlan total questions are 100 of which 25 are from Mathematics, 50 from General Aptitude and 25 from Planning.
The question paper will have no internal choices within questions and total duration of exam is 3 hours.
Yes, JEE Main exam has negative marking. 1 mark is deducted for every incorrect answer.
However, the panel has urged NTA to get their act together, so that such instances do ot occur in the upcoming sessions of the exams. This affects the students' trust in NTA and the system.
Additionally, the panel also pointed out that NTA was allotted an estimated INR 3,512.98 crore and spent Rs 3,064.77 crore on conducting exams over the last six years. This leads to INR 448 crore in their reserve.
NTA will hold JEE Main 2026 session 1 exam between January 21 to 30, and the session 2 will be held from April 2 to 9. The session 1 registration is over ,and applications for session 2 will commence in the last week of January 2026.
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