"After the declaration of the result of the JEE (Main) – 2024 Session 1, there have been numerous issues raised about the candidates with lower marks getting higher percentile", declared a press release by the exam conducting body National Testing Agency. The press release was put out today, February 17, Saturday. 

"It is reiterated that the JEE (Main) – 2024 Session 1 examination has been conducted as per the norms and procedures followed for the conduct of any high-stakes examination thereby providing fair and equal opportunity for all candidates", the press release went on to say. 

The results of the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main January Session I were released on February 13, and 23 students from across India achieved a perfect score of 100. 

Experts had raised concerns regarding the disparity between marks and percentiles in this year's JEE and it is addressing these concerns that the NTA put out the press release. A huge difference in marks (about 80-90 marks) between sessions for the same percentile was alleged.

Explaining the same Tamil Nadu-based Career Consultant Jayaprakash Gandhi, had informed EdexLive, “As educationists, the first question on our mind is – why did the NTA allot 3 lakh students on 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 coach further adds, “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.”