JEE Main 2020: MHRD Plans to Conduct Exam in Multiple Languages

Speculations are round the corner that National Test

Agency (NTA) is planning to conduct JEE Main in multiple languages. The demand

has come up on the lines of NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test).

Both, the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) and NTA are in

consultation to make the exam multilingual.

• NTA conducts JEE Main twice a year.
• The paper is conducted in English and Hindi, along with one regional

  language Gujarati (as clarified by NTA that the paper is translated into

  Gujarati only as no other state approached NTA to conduct paper in other

  regional languages).

• Preference will be given to the

  regional languages of the states with a high number of applicants.

• Marathi

  and Telugu may be the first two regional languages to be added. Andhra

  Pradesh and Telangana in total comprised of 1.6 lakh applicants, followed by

  Maharashtra with 1.1 lakh applicants in April 2019.

• Demand to include Bengali as a

  regional language for JEE Main has been raised recently by West Bengal Chief

  Minister Mamta Banerjee.

• When CBSE was the conducting body

  of JEE Main, the question paper was available in Marathi, Gujarati, and Urdu.

• Marathi and Urdu were withdrawn

  in 2016.

JEE Main is one of the most sought after engineering exams after class

12. With demands being raised from other states to

conduct exam in multiple languages, the Central Government along with National

Testing Agency is preparing to conduct the exam in all 22 languages. However,

from which year will this be implemented has not been specified as JEE Main is

an online-based test and converting it into multiple languages may require a

lot of time to develop suitable software.

As per HRD Secretary R Subramanyam, there are technical

limitations attached to NTA, unlike NEET which is a purely offline mode

examination.

“Since

JEE Main is held in CBT mode, there are some limitations which need to be

addressed first. We are committed to conducting JEE Main in multiple languages

and the process will take time”

Also, the HRD Secretary ruled out all rumors

regarding the removal of Gujarati as a JEE Main language.

As per a recent release by NTA, JEE Main started in

2013, and requests were sent to all states in 2013 itself. However, only Gujarat

responded to the request and agreed to admit it's students through JEE Main

(score). Further in 2014, Maharashtra also agreed to request of accepting JEE

Main score after which Marathi and Urdu were incorporated into the circle. But

the two languages (Marathi and Urdu) were withdrawn in 2016.

Now with recent tweets by West Bengal CM, the issue

has gained an upsurge.

She tweets,

“Our country is India, which is home to so many

religions, cultures, languages, creeds and communities… However, maligning all

regions and regional languages is the intention of the government at the

Centre…. Why injustice is being meted out to them?”

JEE Main is scheduled for January 6-11, 2020 (First

session) and from April 9 to 13, 2020 (Second session). According to JEE 2020

notification, the question papers will be set in English, and Hindi, but for

Union Territories like Daman and Diu, Dadar and Nagar Haveli, the medium of the

paper will be English, Hindi, and Gujarati.