The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay is expected to release a statement addressing the grievances of students who faced technical issues during the conduct of the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Advanced on August 28 this year.
IIT Bombay, which is conducting the JEE Advanced exam this year, was directed by the Bombay High Court to address the concerns of all students who filed an official complaint regarding the technical issues under the grievance redressal mechanism as per Clause 33 of the IIT JEE (Advanced) 2022 exam brochure.
The court on Thursday, September 8, had directed IIT Bombay to address the concerns of the students in this regard within two days while hearing a petition filed by 14 students who claimed that precious time was wasted during the examination as they grappled with technical glitches in the Computer-Based Test (CBT).
The court disposed of the petitions, adding that IIT Bombay's word on the matter will be final. The Institute, during the hearing of the petition, had claimed that out of 1.60 lakh students who wrote the exam, only 25 students had filed an official complaint. The counsel for IIT Bombay also added that the complaints were not received immediately after the exam, but only on September 2 and 3.
The petitioners contended that the exam was marred because of a malfunctioning zoom key, that expanded the question paper on screen by 300%, making it difficult for the students to view the questions. Precious time was wasted in adjusting the screen to view the questions, the petitioners said. They also claimed that no action was taken by the invigilators when the problem was brought to their notice and that they were also not given extra time to complete the paper. More importantly, even after the issue was raised during Shift I of the exam on that date, the problem was not addressed and persisted through Shift II as well, the petitioners alleged.
Taking note of the students' concerns, the court said, "We can understand that the exam would be an important one for the career of the students. The complaints made by the students are also required to be considered by the authority in its all earnestness." The court added that while the Insitute was aware of the issue raised by the petitioners, it had, as yet, not communicated any directions regarding the same to the students.
Disposing of the petition, the court noted, "It is said that the results may be declared on 11th September 2022. The Authority shall scrupulously look into the grievances of the Petitioners and arrive at an independent conclusion and communicate the same to the complainants."
An official at IIT Bombay told Edexlive, "We have not as yet decided on the matter. We will release a statement by evening today."
