Many years ago I had laughed at a statement made by my neighbour - ’’Everybody passes the JEE; the IITs have only 2000 seats which is why they select as many candidates.’’
In retrospect, I realize that her statement was not off the mark at all. Let’s get some facts right. The number of seats in the IITs has increased to about 4000 today. Since about 200, 000 students write the exam in a year, this means that 98% of the candidates don’t make it. Many of the readers may not be privy to the fact that the aggregate marks of the last candidate to get through (in the merit list) hovers around 40%. Interesting! Despite all the magical coaching classes and materials, 98% of those who write the JEE score less than 40% marks!
This brings me to the question whose answer has long been taken for granted by all. Is the JEE difficult? Of course, some would say. May be. The JEE may be difficult in the sense that the average marks of a set of students in a JEE paper may be less than the average marks of the same set of students in any other paper of the same subject. But in a competitive exam, does that really matter? Hilarious as it may sound, two years back at a JEE centre, after the Math paper, I heard a parent complain about the fact that that year’s total marks was 60, as compared to the 100 in previous years.
They say if you are serious about the JEE then you must join this classes, do this course, read these books, solve these questions - the list just doesn’t seem to end. Fifteen years ago, there were no coaching classes for the JEE. There were a couple of postal programs which were believed to suffice. Preparing for two years was unheard of. Even today, how many locations in semi-urban India have coaching for the JEE? I was talking to an AIR 7th ranker from some place in Jharkhand. There were no coaching classes at his place. As for postal courses, he simply could not afford them. He only read some good books.
Some would argue that this is a one-in-a-million case. Perhaps. But that should not stop us from asking a pertinent question - Do preparatory programs for the JEE add value? If yes, then how much value? A certain ABC classes in Delhi has excellent reputation in this field. So much that it conducts its own entrance test for taking in students for the program. And guess what? Almost all of Delhi’s JEE aspirants appear for this test. They get to choose the best of the lot. Is it then any wonder that they also get excellent results?
Now, let us evaluate the kind of people who are in the coaching industry (barring some exceptions). Most of these people who get to teach for the programs have never qualified the JEE themselves. One must remember that the question papers in the JEE are created by a rather robust process by some of the best subject people in this world. It is not easy to follow their example, to put it mildly. Yet, you hardly find a coaching institute or a postal program that doesn’t claim to be an expert in the JEE.
In conclusion, let us understand some simple facts. The syllabus of the JEE is no different from the scores of syllabii followed by as many boards in this country. The Physics or Math in JEE is no different from what these boards also cover. The JEE is unique in the sense that it never asks a direct question - in fact all its questions since the first time it was conducted in 1961 are designed to test understanding of concepts.
Unless students are clear about these fundamentals, no amount of coaching or problem solving will help. It is far better to read a few good books, and do a few quality problems that enhance your understanding than to get in the rut of doing Irodovs of the world. Has it ever occured to anybody that the JEE might be all about the process of natural selection?