JEE Main 2025: NTA Discontinued Optional Questions for Selection in Section B of JEE Main 2025 Examination

The Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India has given the responsibility to the National Testing Agency (NTA) to administer the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE Main) examination from 2019 onwards. Registrations for the JEE Mains 2025 exam are anticipated to begin soon in the upcoming days.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has discontinued the optional questions in Section B of the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2025 examinations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, NTA introduced an option in section B of every subject in the JEE Mains 2025 examination. In this candidates are asked to attempt any 5 (five) questions out of a total of 10 questions from the question paper since the year 2021. But this implementation was just made on a temporary basis to accommodate the challenges faced by candidates at the point of the pandemic. Candidates faced too much difficulty in studying during COVID-19. Hence the measure was practiced till the year 2024 for the JEE Mains Examination. On 05 May 2023, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) declared the end of COVID-19 also the end of the Public health emergency, NTA decided to again discontinue the optional selection of questions and begin the old format of the JEE Mains examination before the 2019 where section B contained 5 questions per subject and cadidates were required to attempt all five of them. In that format, there was no option selection of questions in JEE (Main) 2025 for Paper 1 (B.E./B. Tech), Paper 2 A (B Arch) and Paper 2 B (B Planning).

Official notification released by NTA reads “During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Testing Agency (NTA) had implemented an option in Section B of each subject in the JEE (Main) Examination allowing candidates to attempt any 5 (five) questions out of a total of 10 questions since JEE (Main) 2021. This modification was introduced as a temporary measure to accommodate the challenges posed during the pandemic and has been in practice till the year 2024 for JEE (Main) examination.”

The notification further says, “Since the declaration of UN World Health Organization (WHO) on the COVID-19 as an end of Public health emergency on 05 May 2023, it has been decided to discontinue the optional selection of questions. The examination structure would return to its original format, where Section B will contain only 5 (five) questions per subject, and candidates will be required to attempt all 5 (five) questions, without any options for selection in JEE (Main) 2025 for Paper 1 (B.E./B. Tech), Paper 2 A (B Arch) and Paper 2 B (B Planning).”

All the above modifications have been implemented by NTA this year. The detailed Pattern of the JEE Mains 2025 Examination is mentioned in the Information Bulletin of JEE (Main) – 2025. Candidates who want further clarifications and updates on JEE Mains 2025 exam registrations are advised to stay in touch with the official website of NTA i.e., www.nta.ac.in and https://jeemain.nta.nic.in/. Registration links for the JEE Mains 2025 exam will be updated on the official website itself.