Open Letter to CBSE Chairman for Clarifications to JEE Main Student Queries

Dear Mr. Vineet Joshi, Chairman of CBSE,

The announcement of the JEE Main 2014 exam- the largest in the country was awaited with bated breath by all the students who aspire to avail admissions to the undergraduate engineering courses at some of the finest institutes of the country. Knowing the importance of this exam for the students as well as the fact that they are school children barely 17 to 18 years old with no knowledge further than their small world, the JEE Main 2014 Information Brochure should have been more informative and CLEAR.
For any doubts and queries, Call the JEE Main 2014 Exam Helpline at 011-40360360

Careers360’s Counselling Cell has been flooded by calls – surprisingly for the JEE Main 2014 Application. Looking at the sheer size of the callers and their varied doubts, we at Careers360 are deeply disturbed that the JEE Main 2014 Application Process that should have been simple has snowballed into a huge question of “Can I do this? How do I put my signature? I made mistakes – what to do?” etc by frantic students.

Therefore, on behalf of the students, we at Careers360 would like to ask the CBSE and the Joint Admission Board to give some answers regarding the JEE Main 2014 Application as well as the very vaguely presented JEE Main 2014 Information Brochure

1. Medium/Language: JEE Main 2014 is offered in six languages depending upon the state. Candidates across the country can write their answers in English or Hindi. Why was the information brochure not announced in these languages? Surely it would benefit all those students who are studying in the vernacular medium of their respective states?

2. The Information Brochure is woefully inadequate in its information such that students and parents alike are very unsure about what is right and what is wrong. Why wasn’t the Information Brochure prepared with a lot of detailed instructions just like the GATE Information Brochure prepared by the IITs for the PG students?

3.  JEE Main 2014 Application Process is now completely online. Many students in rural areas have no access to computers leave alone knowledge of it. But the Facilitation centres set up are woefully inadequate. For eg, in Arunachal Pradesh, there is just one centre for the whole state. Is it really enough and will it suffice for the students who reside in the remote areas of the state?

4. Canara Bank E-Challan: Many Canara Bank branches refused the JEE Main 2014 payments citing no knowledge. Careers360 has taken the trouble of tracking down the concerned officials at Canara Bank and have ensured that the students can pay the JEE Main 2014 fees as specified. This should have been ensured by the CBSE in the first place. Read the story here

Parents are also having problems with the online payment gateway with the payments being debited from their banks and the application fee not paid. There is no clear mention about the next course of action, refund details etc in the Information Brochure which is necessary.

About the bank charges mentioned for Online JEE Fee Payment- Parents have the doubts whether they should add the extra charge or pay 1000 and the bank charges are deducted by the bank? Please clarify.

5. The Online JEE Main 2014 Application needs students to upload their photographs, thumb impression and signature along with either online payment or through E—challan.

There are a lot of doubts that have cropped up in the minds of the students.  We are putting the questions as per the Online JEE Main 2014 Application:

Exam Centres-

• How will students know about the dates and sessions of the JEE Main 2014 Computer Based Exam if they have failed to book their sessions after paying the JEE Application Fees?
• Students don’t have a choice on booking the exam centres –online for the paper 1 and offline for paper 2. There is no provision for students wishing to appear for both the exams at different centres.

Academic Details:

Eligibility:

Eligibility for private candidates or students of a correspondence course is not specified

Apart from the HSC vocational courses, a student with a Diploma recognized by AICTE or a state board of technical education of at least 3 year duration is eligible for [Only for Admission to IITs] Does this mean that the students should write the JEE main 2014 for the eligibility to appear for JEE Advanced 2014? Please Clarify.

Roll No in Hall Ticket:

• This varies from state to state and the number of digits in it differs too. There are no guidelines about this.
• The Hall Ticket option has been programmed to take in only a certain no of digits. Anything else is rejected by the system. What should a student do in such a situation?

Code of the Qualifying Examination passed/appearing: this section has been dealt with a list in the Information Brochure with no other information. Some questions that arise during this section are:

• Which are the Public School/ Board/ University examinations in India recognized by the Association of Universities and are they available in each and every state? Are there any exams other than the ones given by the AIU on their website? If yes, elaborate on the names with details.
• HSC Vocational courses- many students have doubts regarding this. Can some examples and details be provided about these courses?

Candidates who have opted for Improvement: No guidelines have been specified and as such students are full of doubts and have questions as mentioned below:

• If a candidate has passed in 2012 and has appeared for improvement in 2013 and is again going for improvement in 2014, which year’s exam should be considered for filling in the form?
• Can a student who has passed the qualifying exam from one board in 2013 write the exam again from another board rather than improvement? Which year marks will be considered for JEE Main 2014?
• The brochure mentions the use of the improvement marks as per the candidate’s wish before using them. The candidate has to check for the notification. Why can’t such candidates be issued email or sms?
• If the candidates miss such a notification, what will be the default condition?

Mobile No: specifications have not been issued anywhere in the Information Brochure. How will an NRI or foreign student enter his/her Mobile No?  

Signature and Thumb Impression: No guidelines again. Some questions that have been asked by students:

• Thumb Impression: Is it the Left or the Right Thumb that has to be used? Why does the brochure specify that during the exam, the Left Thumb Impression of the candidate will be taken in the attendance sheet? (Pg 23 of the IB of JEE Main 2014)
• What if a candidate has no Thumb? Special cases guidelines?
• Can students make soft copies of their signature and thumb impression at the facilitation centres?

6. Mistakes in the JEE Main 2014 Application form: Many students are really worried as the CBSE has mentioned that they may be given a chance to rectify the mistakes in January, 2014. Why are there no FAQs for this very important section?

7. Mock Papers: Why are there no sample papers for the offline exam?

8. During the exam as per the Information Brochure: The Online tests don’t mention any thing about the ‘Left Hand Thumb’ impression in the attendance sheet while the offline tests do mention it. Why is there a difference?

9. Helplines: We have been repeatedly trying the helpline phone lines and are unable to access them. When 16 lakh plus students give this exam; shouldn’t a dedicated call centre be set up that can be accessed easily?

It is of utmost importance that CBSE takes note of these queries and clears the confusion that currently exists amongst the students to enable them to apply correctly without the fear of rejection at every step. A Frequently Asked Questions page can be put up addressing the many issues that are plaguing the JEE Main 2014 Online Application Form.

We at Careers360 sincerely hope that CBSE will issue clarifications regarding the JEE Main 2014Online application form as soon as possible.