JEE Mains 2023: In absence of Class X mark sheet, Tamil Nadu aspirants are confused about application

Several Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Main 2023 aspirants from Tamil Nadu are in a fix. Those who completed their Class X from the state board were not given any mark sheet, and now they need to fill up a mandatory column asking their tenth marks in the JEE Main application form.

The students from the 2020-21 batch are the sufferers. The Tamil Nadu government had cancelled their examination due to the COVID-19 pandemic and every student was declared as pass. "We had classes till February 2020 and then they were suspended. There were no exams and the marks obtained space has been left blank in our Class X Board certificates, which we received later," said Sarath Kumar, a student from Tamil Nadu, told EdexLive.

"Tamil Nadu conducted Board exams in Class XI instead and we have the mark sheets for that, but JEE application requires Class X marks," he added. Confused students have taken to Twitter, asking NTA (National Testing Agency, which conducts the exam) to resolve the issue.

Student voices from Twitter
A tweet from Buraga Rajasekhar (@BuragaRajasekh1), a JEE aspirant from the state, reads, "@DG_NTA Suggest!!! We are from tamilnadu, Studied Std.X state board in 2020-21, due corona our state government has given ALL PASS certificate for all the students. While filling the application for JEE MAIN, they were asking to enter 10th class marks. How to proceed?"

"For Tamil Nadu 2021 batch 10th students, I just got pass in mark sheet and no board exam is conducted due to COVID-19, How can I register for JEE Main?" asks another student, Vishnu (@fogyknight), in a separate tweet. However, it is not only the students who are concerned.

Career Consultant Jayprakash Gandhi tweeted, "Current TN +2 state board students are not able to proceed to register for forthcoming JEE main exam applications process as they didn't write 10th board exams due to pandemic. I still wonder how can organizations like NTA doesn't plan before they finalize the process? SHAMEFUL."

Asked if having no mark sheet will be a problem in future as well, Sarath says, "It is possible, but I do not think so, as along with our Class X certificate, we were given the government-issued order declaring all the students in the batch as pass." But this has put the students in a tight spot, he added.

Applying using alternate ways 
The student further said that he has not applied for JEE Main 2023 yet and was waiting for clarification on the procedure from the government. However, according to a report by The New Indian Express, a few students from the state have applied using other means. While a few have filled the minimum required marks in the application form, others have filled the form without mentioning any mark. But these students are doubtful if their forms would be accepted.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said that the matter would be taken up with the Union Government. And in a statement, School Education Commissioner K Nandakumar asked the students to continue preparing for the entrance test without worry, as per the TNIE report.