JEE Main 2025: NTA changes exam pattern, scraps optionals in Section B

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has announced a significant change to the format of the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2025, discontinuing option to select questions in Section B of the exam. The NTA released a notification on Thursday, releasing the official website for the JEE Main 2025 Examination.

In another notification, the NTA said that the option to select questions in Section B, introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, will no longer be available. This means candidates appearing for JEE Main 2025 will need to attempt all five questions in Section B without any choice.

"The optional selection of questions was introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic to ease the pressure on students amid unprecedented challenges," the NTA noted in a statement. "With the WHO declaring the end of COVID-19 as a public health emergency on May 5, 2023, we are reverting to the original exam structure."

From JEE Main 2025 onwards, candidates will no longer have the flexibility to select questions in Section B. "All students will now be required to attempt all five questions in Section B for each subject," stated the NTA.

This change ends the flexible option introduced in 2021, which allowed students to attempt any 5 out of 10 numerical questions due to the challenges of COVID-19.

Additionally, the NTA confirmed that the application process for the first phase of JEE Main 2025 will begin soon, with details to be released on its official website.

Starting from JEE Main 2025, Section B will contain only five mandatory questions per subject in Paper 1 (B.E./B. Tech), Paper 2A (B. Arch), and Paper 2B (B. Planning). Candidates must attempt all five questions without any option for selection.