Experts also suggested that the National Testing Agency (NTA) release question banks and avoid questions beyond the prescribed syllabus: Reports
HYDERABAD: Hyderabad-based education experts have welcomed the Centre’s decision to review the difficulty levels of national competitive exams such as JEE and NEET-UG and urged that question papers be balanced, syllabus-based and stress-free. They recommended that papers contain a mix of easy, moderate and a few tough questions to fairly assess students’ abilities while easing exam-related anxiety. Experts also suggested that the National Testing Agency (NTA) release question banks and avoid questions beyond the prescribed syllabus.
Krishna Chaitanya Kasula, a JEE and NEET-UG coaching expert, said maintaining a balanced difficulty level is essential. “In the past, several students scored full marks because the NEET-UG paper was too easy. The exam must be designed to differentiate genuine merit,” he said. On the Centre’s goal of reducing students’ dependence on coaching institutes, Kasula said it may not be entirely achievable. “As long as competition exists, stress will remain. Every parent wants their child to get specialised coaching to improve their chances,” he explained.
Chemistry expert A.N.S. Sankara Rao supported the idea of publishing official question banks and NCERT-based exemplar questions. “If the NTA releases a question bank, students can prepare systematically. The paper should ideally have 50 per cent moderate, 30 per cent easy, and 20 per cent difficult questions — but none that confuse or waste time,” he said. He added that each subject should include four to five difficult questions to filter top performers, while maintaining the current JEE Advanced paper pattern.
Another expert, V. Purushotham, welcomed the proposal to review the syllabus. “Questions in JEE Main often go beyond the prescribed syllabus, creating unnecessary stress. Sticking to the syllabus and reducing out-of-syllabus questions will help students and ease the financial burden on parents seeking coaching,” he said. Experts agreed that moderation in exam design, transparent preparation material and strict adherence to the syllabus would make the country’s toughest entrance tests more equitable and student-friendly without compromising academic standards.
