JEE Main 2026: Shiksha Students Poll reveals most aspirants prefer self study for preparation

Around 38% aspirants have voted to self-study for their upcoming JEE Main preparation. A mere 21% students have opted for offline coaching classes. More than 27% students prefer using NCERT and school notes for JEE preparation.

Students prefer to study for JEE Main using NCERT books and school notes, data from a student opinion poll run by Shiksha.com reveals. Of the 1000 plus aspirants participating in the poll, only 21% are taking offline classes in coaching institutes for preparation.

A little less than 30% students are those who are preparing for JEE using feely available online resources like video lectures and notes from various subject experts.

This result comes in line with the government’s initiative of analyzing students over dependency on coaching institutes to clear exams like JEE and NEET. The government has recently formed a panel consisting of experts from NTA, NCERT, and IITs to judge the difficulty level of engineering and medical entrance exams. The intent is to align JEE and NEET difficulty level with class 11 and 12. The recommendations of panel are yet to be announced.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is also drafting guidelines to provide in-school support to students preparing for JEE Mains, NEET and CUET exams. The CBSE is planning to run the pilot project on some schools with setting up a dedicated “Centre for Advanced Studies” where students will be prepared for competitive entrance exams along with their boards exams.

A Shift in Trend

Over the years, students as well as the parents have preferred coaching institutes for JEE Mains preparation, the reason- intense completion and difficulty level of the exam. The result- cities like Kota have evolved as a coaching hub, with millions of students churning day and night to fulfill their dream of studying in IITs and NITs. The trend however appears to shift with the availablity of digital study resources for free.

When will JEE Main 2026 Registration start?

The NTA published a notice dated September 29 announcing that the exam will be conducted in two sessions in January and April and the registration for January exam will start in October. The exact dates for JEE Main exam 2026 are yet to be announced.

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