The state joint entrance examination board has announced that candidates will have to submit applications online from December 24 to January 10 to write the state JEE next year.
The test to screen engineering aspirants will be held in-person on April 23.
A notice issued by the JEE board says the candidates can make corrections in the application form online and download the revised confirmation page from January 11 to 13.
Admit cards can be downloaded from April 18 to 23.
Paper-I (mathematics) will be held from 11am to 1pm and Paper-II (physics and chemistry) from 2pm to 4pm.
The All India Council of Technical Education, the apex body that regulates engineering education in the country, has said all engineering aspirants have to clear a test, to be held in-person or online, to enrol in a BTech programme.
“Not all students have the resources to sit an online exam. So we have opted for an in-person test,” said an official of the state JEE board.
“The candidates will get to choose their centres from multiple options so they can write the test near home and don’t have to travel much amid the pandemic,” the official said.
The list of district-wise examination zones has been uploaded on the website of the JEE board.
Kolkata, where a large number of candidates write the test, has been split into Central Kolkata, North Kolkata, South Kolkata, Salt Lake-New Town and West Kolkata.
Each district in Kolkata has multiple examination zones.
“For instance, central Kolkata consists of examination zones in Moulali, Beleghata, Narkeldanga, Phoolbagan, Kankurgachi and Park Circus. In the information brochure uploaded on the website, we have specified how candidates should select any three zones from the list in order of preference,” the board official said.
Districts like Howrah, Hooghly, Murshidabd, North 24-Parganas, too, have multiple examination zones because a large number of candidates write the tests in these districts.
“We want all candidates to be allotted centres within 10km of their place of stay. The board wants to ensure that the candidates don't travel much (amid the pandemic),” JEE board chairman Malayendu Saha said.
In 2021, over 74,000 candidates had written the test at 274 centres.
The board might increase the number of centres for JEE 2022 for better adherence to the physical distancing norm as a precaution against Covid, Saha said.
“The exact number of centres will be decided after we come to know how many candidates will write the test,” he said.