NEW DELHI: A record 12 JEE-Main questions were dropped from the final answer key due to errors, the highest in recent history, raising serious concerns about the National Testing Agency‘s ability to conduct a fair and transparent exam of such a large scale.
Despite reducing the total number of questions from 90 to 75, the error rate surged to 1.6%, far exceeding historical 0.6% threshold. Adding to the concern is NTA’s lack of transparency, with inconsistencies in its claims about the number of dropped questions, raising suspicions of “under-reporting” NTA DG P S Kharola did not respond to TOI questions. Education ministry has forwarded a reply from NTA that ignored syllabus discrepancy concerns, deepening scepticism about its accountability.
Out-of-syllabus questions erode NTA credibility further
An examination of past answer keys contradicts NTA’s claims, revealing multiple instances of error-free papers in previous years. Before 2025, the highest number of dropped questions was six in Session 1 of 2024 and four in Session 2.
NTA claimed that six questions were dropped in Session 1 of 2023, 2024 and 2025, but the official answer key for 2025 lists 12 dropped questions. TOI’s analysis found five questions were dropped in Session 1 of 2023, while 2022’s Session 1 and 2 had four and six dropped questions, respectively. No questions were dropped in the Feb and March 2021 exams. Despite this, the agency defended itself, stating, “This year’s record-low challenge rate and minimal errors reaffirm NTA’s commitment to ensuring a fair, transparent, and error-free examination process for engineering aspirants nationwide.”
Experts highlight that inconsistencies in language translations further erode trust in the exam process. At least two translation errors were found in the final answer key, causing confusion. Incorrect answers were later marked correct, creating additional discrepancies. Students answering in Hindi and Gujarati had two answer choices, while others had only one, raising concerns about fairness. The inclusion of out-of-syllabus questions further damaged confidence in NTA’s reliability.
Educators and students have expressed frustration, stating, “In a prestigious exam like JEE, where students’ futures are at stake, such incompetence is unacceptable.” Errors led to confusion, such as a logic gate question from the 22nd Shift 2 paper being dropped after being deemed invalid. Physics questions also contained errors, while translation inconsistencies and marking mistakes persisted.
Despite assurances of a well-structured exam, students encountered multiple out-of-syllabus topics.
“For example, the Carnot Cycle, removed from the syllabus years ago, appeared unexpectedly in the paper. Likewise, Newton’s Law of Cooling, omitted for the past two years, suddenly had 22 related questions. This misalignment between the syllabus and the actual exam content further added to students’ distress,” an educator lamented, adding, “we expected a better paper this year – one without errors and irrelevant questions. Instead, we got a complete mess.”
Students lost valuable time on incorrectly framed questions, with some spending 10-15 minutes struggling with ambiguous problems, affecting performance and rankings. As one student put it, “It’s not just about dropping incorrect questions – it’s about the time students wasted on them. That’s a huge injustice.”
NTA has faced criticism for mismanaging various exams, including last year’s NEET-UG and UGC-NET, which were marred by controversies over paper leak allegations and irregularities. Given past failures, expectations were high for improvements in JEE-Main 2025. However, despite recommendations from the Radhakrishnan Committee categorising JEE-Main as a high-stakes exam, the agency appears to have repeated its mistakes. The committee stated, ” …It is to be ensured that questions created will have uncontested answers… “
Amid these inconsistencies, JEE-Main faces serious credibility issues due to NTA’s continued mismanagement and lack of accountability.