The Joint Admission Board (JAB) on Thursday decided that the JEE Main 2020 will be held in more regional languages. The decision was made in line with the New Education Policy, NEP, 2020. It will come into action from the year 2021, said Education Minister, Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. However, NTA currently conducts JEE main and Advanced only English, Hindi, and Gujarati. JEE Main is a national level examination for admission in undergraduate courses of Engineering. The JEE main scorecard is accepted by all NITs and GFTIs. Also, JEE Main is the preliminary examination for JEE Advanced. JEE Advanced opens doors for admission into IITs across the country.
Students already had the option of writing exam in Gujarati
Sources in the ministry reveal that the students in Gujarat, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haweli also had the option of writing engineering entrance exam in Gujarati. This was allowed under a special provision. “It started in the year 2013 after the request of the Gujarat government to the board. As a result, this practice is ongoing since then”, an official said.
Languages are yet to be decided for JEE Main 2020
According to National Testing Agency (NTA) officials, the regional languages in which the test will be held are yet not decided. Furthermore, the exam will be conducted in regional languages in states which conduct their own examination. However, This exam is already conducted in the regional language. It allows admission in state government-run engineering colleges. In addition to it, “the regional language of states who admit students based on the JEE(Main) will also be included under this”, an official said.
Furthermore, he said that this decision will have far-reaching implications. He also mentioned the tweet of Prime minister Narendra Modi. Earlier, Prime Minister has mentioned the top-scoring countries in PISA. He had pointed out that the top-scoring countries in PISA use their mother tongue as a medium of instruction. Moreover, this decision by JAB will help students comprehend questions better and score higher,” he said in a series of tweets.
Demand for the inclusion of other languages in JEE Main 2020
Last year, while questioning the inclusion of Gujarati as a medium of writing the exam, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee demanded the inclusion of other regional languages. However, This was clarified by the ministry of education. It was stated that the exam was conducted in Gujarati as per request from the state. Moreover, the ministry had then announced that the examination will be held in 11 languages from 2021. Also, the ministry asked the NTA to explore the possibility of offering the exam in as many languages as possible.
📢Announcement📢
In line with the vision of #NEP2020, the Joint Admission Board (JAB) of #JEE (Main) has decided to conduct the JEE (Main) examination in more regional languages of India. @DG_NTA
— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) October 22, 2020
The examination will also be conducted in regional languages where entry to State Engineering Colleges is decided based on an examination (conducted in regional language). State language of States who admit students based on the #JEE(Main) will also be included under this.
— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) October 22, 2020
This decision has far-reaching implications as Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji has pointed out that top-scoring countries in PISA examination use mother tongue as a medium of instruction. The decision of JAB will help students comprehend questions better & score higher. @DG_NTA
— Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (@DrRPNishank) October 22, 2020
