Candidates who participated in the January session of the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main are reporting significant difficulties while attempting to register for the upcoming April session, stated a report by The Times of India.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) has not provided options to update essential details in the online application form, such as preferred examination city and personal information, including reserved category status.
The JEE Main is held biannually, allowing candidates to appear in both sessions, with the better score being considered for admissions. However, candidates who initially applied under the general category in January owing to the unavailability of their reserved category certificates are now unable to update their status, even though they have since obtained the necessary documentation.
Compounding these issues, the NTA is yet to address numerous grievances from the January session, despite releasing the exam's answer key, indicating that results may be announced soon. Registration for the April session commenced on February 1 and will conclude on February 25.
According to the official notification, existing candidates can select their preferred course (paper), change the medium of the question paper, choose exam cities, and pay fees. However, restrictions on updating personal details remain a significant concern.
Expressing frustration, the student said, "That’s where the problem lies. I applied under the general category earlier because my OBC certificate wasn’t ready. I assumed I could update it in the second session, but now there’s no option for that.”
Additionally, candidates have noted that the NTA has reduced the number of JEE Main exam cities in India from 300 last year to 284 this year, while international exam centres have decreased from 24 to 14.
Another pressing issue is the inability to change the "state of eligibility."
Any aspirants registered from a different state in January — often selecting a centre which is near their coaching institute rather than their home state — potentially affecting their chances of availing home state quota.
The NTA Director General did not respond to messages from Times of India seeking comment. However, a source within the NTA acknowledged the situation, stating, "We still have thousands of unresolved complaints from the January session."
