NTA imposes three-year ban on 39 candidates for unfair means in JEE Main 2024

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has taken stringent action against 39 candidates found guilty of resorting to unfair means during the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Main 2024. In a recent notification, the agency announced a three-year ban on these individuals, highlighting its commitment to maintaining the integrity and fairness of the examination process.

The decision comes in the wake of earlier reports by the NTA, revealing instances of malpractice, including impersonation and other unfair means, detected during the first day of the JEE-Main Session 2. Leveraging advanced AI tools, specifically iFace, the agency identified nine cases of malpractice, underscoring its proactive approach to combating exam irregularities.

iFace, an AI technology introduced by the NTA, plays a pivotal role in verifying candidates' identities by cross-referencing the photo on their admit cards with live photographs taken at exam centers. This, coupled with mandatory frisking and electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) procedures, strengthens the authentication process. Additionally, the NTA deployed a significant workforce for biometric authentication, frisking, CCTV surveillance, and jamming services to ensure exam security.

The JEE Main 2024 exam was conducted in two sessions, with the first session held from January 28 to February 1 and the second session from April 4 to 9. The announcement of the result of Paper 1 (BE/BTech) on April 24, 2024, marked a significant milestone in the examination process.

In response to candidates' concerns regarding issues such as scorecard display, the NTA reiterated its stance on the consequences of multiple application form submissions. The notification clarified that candidates found to have submitted multiple application forms or possessing multiple scorecards would be deemed to have resorted to unfair means, leading to stringent action.

Moreover, adhering to court directives, the NTA enforced strict measures to prevent candidates from obtaining multiple scorecards with different application numbers for the same examination within a year. Consequently, candidates appearing multiple times with different application numbers will have only their best scores included in the scorecard.