10,000 Aspirants Sign Petition Seeking Third JEE Advanced Attempt; What IIT Kanpur Director Said

Nearly 10,000 engineering aspirants have signed an online petition demanding a third attempt at the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advanced, reigniting the debate over whether students should be given another opportunity to compete for admission to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).

Currently, the top 2.5 lakh candidates in JEE Main are eligible to appear for JEE Advanced. While students can take JEE Main multiple times over three consecutive years after passing Class XII, JEE Advanced generally allows candidates two attempts in two consecutive years.

A representative of the student group recently met JEE Advanced Director Prof. Pramit K. Chowdhury in Delhi to submit the petition. The aspirants have also raised the issue with the Ministry of Education and members of the Joint Admission Board (JAB).

According to the students, the demand is centred on providing a fair opportunity to aspirants from disadvantaged backgrounds, those with limited access to coaching and academic guidance, and candidates who face serious health or personal emergencies during their examination period.

Raj, a 19-year-old student from Bengaluru representing the group, said many students receive years of structured coaching and mentorship before appearing for the highly competitive examination, while others gain access to adequate guidance only after completing Class XII.

However, IIT Kanpur Director Prof. Manindra Agrawal has cautioned against introducing a third attempt as a general rule.

According to Agrawal, one year after Class XII is sufficient preparation time for JEE Advanced. He pointed to JEE Main data suggesting that relatively few students achieve significantly better results on a third attempt.

Allowing an additional attempt could also require substantial resources and lead thousands of aspirants to spend another year preparing without a proportionate chance of securing admission, he said.

Agrawal, however, indicated that limited relaxation could be considered in exceptional cases.

Students facing serious health problems or other genuine circumstances that prevented them from effectively using their two attempts could potentially be considered separately, he said, adding that the issue must be examined from multiple perspectives.

The IIT Kanpur director also questioned the likely outcome of a third attempt for all candidates, suggesting that even among the thousands supporting the petition, only a small number may ultimately qualify.

The controversy over the number of JEE Advanced attempts is not new. In November 2024, the Joint Admission Board announced that candidates would be permitted three attempts in three consecutive years instead of the existing two-attempt system.

However, the decision was withdrawn just 13 days later, restoring the two-attempt rule.

The reversal triggered legal challenges from students who had made academic decisions based on the earlier announcement. In January 2025, the Supreme Court granted a limited exception to certain affected candidates, allowing them to appear for JEE Advanced 2025.

However, the court did not direct the Joint Admission Board to introduce a third JEE Advanced attempt as a permanent rule.

For now, the demand from thousands of aspirants has once again brought the issue before education authorities, with students seeking greater flexibility while policymakers weigh fairness against the examination's practical and administrative challenges.