The Ministry of Education's Department of Higher Education has announced significant changes to the structure and administration of the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) for admission to undergraduate engineering programmes at IITs, NITs, and other Centrally Funded Technical Institutions (CFTIs). The changes were detailed in a recent notice and are scheduled to take effect in 2024 and 2025.

The key difference in this notification is related to the role of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and its responsibilities in managing the technology aspects of the examination. The reconstitution of the JEE Apex Board (JAB) aims to create a more streamlined and efficient process for administering both the JEE (Main) and JEE (Advanced) entrance examinations.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will provide a permanent secretariat to the newly formed JEE Apex Board. In addition, the JEE Interface Group, comprised of five members nominated by the Joint Apex Board from NTA, IITs, and a senior representative from the Indian Statistical Institutes (ISI), will assist the JAB in its duties.

The JAB will be the ultimate authority in charge of establishing policies, rules, and regulations for the administration of JEE (Main). It will also work with the institution that is organising JEE (Advanced). The Secretariat will handle a variety of administrative tasks, including finance, court cases, and RTI requests.