The Education Minister of India, Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank” went live yesterday at 10 AM IST to answer the primordial questions of students regarding the feasibility to conduct various competitive exams, among other things. One of the most important areas of concern for the students was the JEE Main 2021.
Syllabus
Since schools and other higher educational institutions across India have been closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CBSE decided to reduce the syllabus for the Class 12 board exam by 30 percent. Now there was no reduction in the syllabus of the JEE Main, therefore the students were worried that the type of questions that might be asked in the engineering entrance test will be something that they won’t be taught in school.
As a result, the Education Minister directed the National Testing Agency to curate a revised syllabus after reviewing the situation across different states and different boards in the country.
JEE Main to be Conducted Four Times
The Minister stated that in order to provide flexibility and reduce stress, it has been decided to give the option to candidates to appear one/two/three/four times in JEE Main 2021 for admission in the coming academic year, he added. The Minister stated that the exam will be held once every month, beginning end of February. The candidate will have the option to appear in one or all months. For ranking of the candidate, his/her best performance will be considered.
Security of Students is Utmost Priority
Since the pandemic does not seem to be easing, the feasibility of conducting exams considering the risk of infection is one of the biggest fears among students and their parents. Pokhriyal said, “For us, your education and your security are equally important to us. Firstly, your security is important, and then, adjacent to that is your education. The slight inconvenience that students have experienced during the lockdown will eventually be wither away.”
JEE Main 2021 Important Dates
Students can refer to the table below to get an idea of the tentative dates for the conduct of the JEE Main 2021 exam:
| Events | February Session Dates | May Session Dates |
| Release of exam notification | December 2020 | |
| Start of the registration process | December 2020 | February 2021 |
| Image correction portal opens | December 2020 | February 2021 |
| End of the registration process | December 2020 | First week of March 2021 |
| Last date to pay the fees and upload images | December 2020 | Second week of March 2021 |
| Application correction portal opens | January 2021 | March 2021 |
| Release of admit card | January 2021 | Third week of March 2021 |
| JEE Main exam date | February 2021 | Second week of April 2021 |
| Display of the answer key | February 2021 | April 2021 |
| Declaration of the result | February 2021 | Last week of April 2021 |
| Counselling process starts | June/ July 2021 | |
Exam Pattern
As per official reports, no changes will done in the exam pattern for the JEE exam. The exam will be of 3 hours conducted in both English and Hindi. The questions will be of objective type and for every correct answer four marks will be awarded and for every incorrect answer, one mark will be deducted. The total number of questions in JEE Main Paper -1 (B.E/ B.Tech) – 75 questions; JEE Main Paper -2 (B.Arch) – 77 questions; JEE Main Paper -3 (B.Plan) – 100 questions.
