JEE Main 2024: Educators point out discrepancies in marks and percentile across sessions

It is alleged that there is an 80-90 mark difference in scoring the same percentage between the first four sessions and the last six sessions

The results for the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Main, January 2024 session were announced yesterday, February 13.

It was found that 23 students from across India achieved a perfect score of 100. This marks an increase from the previous year, where 20 students achieved the same feat in the first session.

In notable and exciting news from Telangana, seven out of the 23 perfect scorers hail from the state. Additionally, three students each are from Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra, with two from Delhi and Haryana, and one each from Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Karnataka bagged the perfect score.

Despite these exciting revelations, it was also noticed that all top scorers are male, and no female students appear on the list. One Dwija Dharmeshkumar Patel from Gujarat secured the highest score among female candidates with a remarkable 99.99.

However, this announcement also stirred controversy, with critics accusing the National Testing Agency (NTA) of mismanagement and suggesting disparities in the results. It is alleged that there are huge differences in marks (about 80-90 marks) between sessions for the same percentile.

These discrepancies were pointed out by Tamil Nadu-based Career Consultant Jayaprakash Gandhi. Taking to his X account today, February 14, he raised several concerns about the way the National Testing Agency (NTA) conducted JEE Main this year.

“JEE Main 2024 exam marks vs percentile exposes NTA’s mismanagement. May be a big scam, too. Students who appeared for Jan 27th and 28th sessions are the biggest loser. How can NTA allocate 3 laks students in the 27th morning session of the JEE exam,” he posted.

This tweet has garnered significant attention with numerous retweets and over 6,000 views so far. As a result, EdexLive reached out to Jayaprakash Gandhi to gain further insight into the matter.

“As educationists, the first question on our mind is – why did the NTA allot three lakh students in the morning session of January 27? The total number of students who appeared is 12 lakh, so each session should have an average of 1.2 lakh students,” he points out, adding that the first few sessions of JEE Main had more students and the number decreased in the last six sessions.

Because of this, he says that the students who appeared for the exam in the first four sessions scored a 99 percentile with an average of 218.5 marks. However, students who wrote the exam in the last six sessions scored the same percentile with an average of only 175 marks – indicating a discrepancy of 43 marks.

The career counsellor further claimed, “For example, a student who appeared in one of the first four sessions secured 99.7 per cent with 256 marks. But another student, who appeared in the next six sessions secured the same percentile with 218 marks. There is an almost 38 mark difference between the two students’ marks.”

“Is this a scam? Did the NTA do this voluntarily? We must demand more transparency from the NTA; this must be exposed,” he alleged.

Further, Gandhi suggests that the JEE must do away with having multiple sessions, to avoid such discrepancies.

“When NEET is conducted only once a year, why can’t the same be followed for JEE? Why can’t we say One Nation, One JEE Main Exam? We don’t need so many sessions,” he says.

Elaborating on the plight of the students, he says that this is making students, especially those who appeared in the first four sessions, lose hope.

“The results should not have been announced when the Board exams are being conducted. These discrepancies even affect the performance of students in the Board exams,” he says, adding that the results should have been released between the conclusion of the Board exams and the announcement of the Plus Two results.