In an emergency meeting on Wednesday, the Joint Admission Board (JAB) decided that students who skipped the IIT entrance exam – JEE Advanced will be allowed an extra chance to appear for the test next year. Promoting equal opportunity for all, the JAB has also decided that these candidates need not qualify for the JEE (Main) 2021 and will be allowed to directly appear in JEE (Advanced) 2021 on the basis of their successful registration to appear in JEE (Advanced) 2020. This relaxation of existing eligibility criteria will be in addition to the proportionate relaxation of the age bar.

“To address the concerns of the affected candidates, while avoiding prejudice to other candidates, it has been decided to allow all the candidates, who had successfully registered to appear in JEE Advanced 2020 but were absent in the exam, to appear in JEE (Advanced) 2021, as a one-time measure,” IIT Delhi said after a meeting of the Joint Admission Board (JAB) of the IITs. Further, it was decided that these candidates would be considered in addition to and not as part of the total number of candidates who would qualify from JEE (Main) 2021 for appearing in JEE (Advanced) 2021.

While Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main is conducted for admission to engineering colleges across the country, JEE Advanced is conducted for admission to 23 IITs in the country. To appear for JEE Advanced, it is mandatory to clear JEE Main. Currently, a candidate is allowed only two attempts at IIT entrance exam, however, those in their final year or second attempt who could not take the exam this year will be given a relaxation. According to the existing rules, a candidate is allowed only two attempts at the IIT entrance exam, however, those in their final year or second attempt who could not take the exam this year will be provided with a relaxation. For quite a time, there has been many demands by students as well as the academicians to extend the number of attempts for the exam.

“This relaxation of the existing eligibility criteria will be in addition to proportionate relaxation of age bar. These candidates would be considered in addition to and not as part of the total number of candidates who would qualify from JEE Main in 2021 for appearing in JEE Advanced,” Rao said. Of the 2.5 lakh students who were eligible to appear for JEE Advanced, only 1.5 lakh had taken the exam. This year, the number of students appearing for JEE Advanced 2020 was a record low as of the 2.5 lakh students who were eligible to appear only 1.5 lakh candidates had appeared for the exam, out of which only 43,000 candidates, including 6,707 girls, have cleared the exam.

JEE Main for admission to engineering colleges was conducted from September 1 to 6 and JEE Advanced on September 27 amid strict precautions in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. Staggered entry and exit of candidates, use of sanitisers at gates, distribution of masks and social distancing as candidates queued up, were followed at examinations centers across the country.