JEE MAIN 2016 ONLINE Mode- A challenge as well as an opportunity

This year JEE Main online test will be conducted on 9th & 10th April and approximately 1.75 lakhs students are expected to take the online test. The result is expected on 27th Apr 2016. The cut off forJEE Advancedwill also be declared on the same day based on the result of JEEMAINs. JEE-Main Scores is very important in seeking admission to 4 year degree courses (in science and engineering) of institutions like NITs, IIITs and other national level colleges in India.

This online test is not conducted over the internet but over a local area network to ensure complete safety & smooth conduction of exam. About 90% ofJEE MAINstest taker prefer pen & paper mode to Online mode. This is a clear indication that aspirants of this exam aspirants are still circumspect about the online mode. There are some challenges in the online mode. But there are two major advantages:

Class XII Students who finish their board exams by around March end get a crucial one week extra to prepare.

Students also can see the paper of pen & paper mode and get some idea about the trend of the exams. It may help them in shifting gear and cover up the areas which they could not catch up with.

While attempting the online test, a student has an option to re-answer or review any question at any point of time during the exam hours. This is the biggest advantage that student finds in comparison to offline mode. Students can mark their answers as a review for questions that are slightly doubtful so that they can come back during the examination to review and finalize the answer.

For the benefit of the students, there is a panel on the computer screen that shows all questions in different colour scheme indicative of answered questions, unanswered questions, questions marked for review and questions not visited. With this, students can check the number of answers that they have attempted, not attempted all through the panel given on computer screen.

Students can keep a check on their time through time counter available on the computer screen.

One major drawback of the online test is that that student does not get the physical question paper immediately after the exam though the question paper along with the options marked is mailed to each student after the exam in over.

Students who are appearing the online test should get themselves familiar with reading on the computer screen. They should try at least 2-3 online test to build their confidence and comfort level. Most importantlyJEE MAIN 2016 ONLINEAspirants must take care of the Time for each of the three subjects so that they can do justice to each of the topics.

Author: Prof Sandeep Singhal
[Prof Sandeep Singhal is a senior faculty and Head – Operations PACE IIT & Medical]