JEE To Get Easier? Madras HC Directs Removal Of Negative Marking From IIT Entrance Exams, Says Unrelated To Merit

The Madras High Court on Friday (1 February) has ruled against negative marking in entrance examinations and has said that the marking system needs to be done away with, effective immediately, The New Indian Express reports.

“This court is of the considered opinion that the system of negative marking, in no way, helps the examiner to analyse the intelligence, aptitude or knowledge of the students in any manner. As such, this Court has no hesitation to hold that the system of negative marking has to be done away with, in as much as, in the considered opinion of this Court, the same perforce requires reconsideration,” said, Justice R Mahadevan, while hearing the petition of a student, S Nelson Prabakaran.

Aiming for admission into one of the IITs, Nelson had given the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main and was not selected for the advance test, claiming that he lost in the exams by scoring 47 marks, three marks short of the cut-off mark of 50.

Nelson’s counsel submitted the answer sheet in which Nelson scored 72 marks, and 25 marks were cut as negative markings for the wrong answers. Further, he presented the Medical Council of Canada Evaluation Exam, CMC Vellore, Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission exam, Canada and Russia MCI Rules and Regulations for MBBS which do not include negative marking in their entrance exams.

Judge R Mahadevan said, “Negative marking introduces concern about students’ risk-taking, the attitude which is unrelated to the skill or knowledge level of the student.”