IITs to offer one more chance to JEE-Advanced drop outs amid COVID-19

New Delhi: Students who successfully registered but could not appear for the Joint Entrance Exam -Advanced (JEE-Advanced) due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic will be given one more chance to appear for the exam in 2021, the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) said in a joint note Tuesday

“To address the concerns of the affected candidates, while avoiding prejudice to other candidates…it was decided to allow all the candidates who had successfully registered to appear in JEE Advanced, but were absent in the exam to appear in JEE Advanced 2021 as a one-time major to ensure equal opportunity to all,” IIT Delhi said after a meeting of the joint admission board (JAB) of the IITs.

IIT Delhi is the organizing IIT this year and JAB is the apex body of IITs that takes call on policy, rules and regulations related to admissions and selections at IITs.

This comes days after the National Testing Agency (NTA) agreed to conduct a retest for candidates who could not give the NEET exam in September due to Covid-19. However, authorities have not yet announced a re-exam for those who could not appear for JEE Mains which forms the basis for selecting students to give JEE Advanced. Almost a quarter of JEE Main exam candidates had dropped out from appearing the exam scheduled in first half of September.

IITs Delhi said initially the JAB thought of giving an extra chance to students who could not give the entrance exam as they were covid-positive, but subsequently decided to bat for equal opportunity for all the absentee candidates this year.

The IITs have also “decided that these candidates will not have to qualify JEE Main 2021, and will be allowed to directly appear in JEE Advanced 2021 on the basis of their successful registration to appear” in 2020.

This relaxation of existing eligibility criteria will be in addition to the proportionate relaxation of the age criteria and in 2021 these absentee 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”.