HRD Minister Smriti Irani has asked Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA), which conducted counselling sessions for admissions to IITs, NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs to refund seat acceptance fee to those candidates who either wish to withdraw admissions or surrender their allotted seats.
The HRD Minister also directed the authorities to find ways to fill more than 3000 vacant IIT/NIT/IIIT/GFTI seats that was to be filled under JoSAA, according to media reports.
In a meeting held on Tuesday, August 5, attended by HRD Minister along with the top ministry officials and JoSAA authorities, Ms Irani also questioned the JoSAA authorities on deviating from the court orders and HRD ministry guidelines on ‘Fee Refund’ and other aspects of admission policy that includes maintaining a long waiting list in case seats remain unfilled.
Careers360 had also been running a campaign on “Why IIT, NIT, IIIT, GFTI seats are blocked despite candidates wishing to back out? Why our system is allowing possibilities of many seats at IITs, NITs, IIITs and GFTIs going vacant this year again?” Hundreds of JoSAA candidates and parents have participated in the campaign and wrote letters to HRD Ministry and JoSAA authorities to introduce fee refund and seat surrender option along with a spot round of counseling. We also questioned why JoSAA officials are more interested in filling the seats of private institutes rather than their own, which are vacant.
Careers360 had earlier reported that over 3000 seats allotted under JoSAA lay vacant at IITs, NITs, IIITs and GFTIs, indicating to a major process flaw in JoSAA business rules that had been shrouded in controversy ever since the joint seat allocation process began for the premier engineering colleges in the first week of July, 2015.
The JoSAA authorities had gone mute on seat surrender options for candidates, who dumped a JoSAA seat for a better opportunity elsewhere. Besides this, such candidates, who did not wish to join a seat accepted under JoSAA 2015, were bound to lose their seat acceptance fee of Rs. 45,000. There are many other Loopholes in JoSAA which includes an absence of spot round to fill the vacant seats.
What does HRD Ministry policy say on 'fee refund'?
According to HRD policy on admissions into academic institutions, institutes are required to refund entire fee, after deduction a processing fee of not more than Rs. 1000, if a candidate wish to withdraw admission before the last date of admission. Also, the HRD Policy directs that “should a student leave after joining the course and consequently the seat falling vacant has been filled by another candidate by the last date of admission, the institution must return the fee collected with proportionate deduction of monthly fee and proportionate hostel rent, where applicable.”
Also, the ministry directives to education institutions also mandate them to maintain a long waiting list for admission so that they can fill the vacant seats before the academic session begins.
Stay tuned to engineering.careers360.com for more news and updates on Engineering admissions.
On Question asked by student community
Hello Hitesh
A state EWS certificate is usually not valid for JEE Advanced or JoSAA counselling.
You’ll need an EWS certificate in the central government format, as required by IITs.
Even if issued by your local authority, it must clearly mention it’s as per Govt. of India norms.
You can visit your tahsildar/revenue office and request it in the “central format for JEE.”
Make sure the issue date is after April 1, 2025, for it to be valid in 2026 counselling.
You don’t need it at the time of JEE Main, only during Advanced registration and JoSAA.
You still have enough time to get it updated, so no stress, just don’t delay it too long.
Hello,
To get below AIR 100 in JEE Advanced 2027, you need a strong and focused plan. Here’s a simple guide:
Clear Concepts : Make sure all NCERT basics are strong. Focus on Physics, Chemistry, and Maths concepts deeply.
Advanced Practice : Solve previous years’ JEE Advanced papers and high-level questions from books like HC Verma, I.E. Irodov, OP Tandon, and Cengage.
Regular Mock Tests : Take full-length tests every week. Analyse mistakes and improve weak areas.
Time Management : Learn to solve questions quickly and accurately. Work on speed and accuracy together.
Short Notes : Make notes/formulas for quick revision.
Consistency : Study daily and avoid long breaks. Consistent practice is key.
Focus on Weak Areas : Identify topics you struggle with and spend extra time on them.
Stress Management : Stay healthy, sleep well, and avoid last-minute panic.
If you follow a structured plan and stay consistent, AIR below 100 is achievable.
Hope it helps !
You can attempt the JEE Advanced exam maximum of two times in two consecutive years. This rule also applies if you did not take the exam in the year you completed your 12th grade. If you skip the first attempt in your 12th grade year, you can only appear for the exam once, in the following year (your drop year).
Yes, JEE Advanced paper is also available in Hindi medium. When you fill the form, you will get the option to choose your language preference like English, Hindi or other regional languages allowed by NTA. If you choose Hindi, then in the exam hall you will get the paper in Hindi medium.
Website: https://jeeadv.ac.in
You can easily download IIT JEE 2025 papers in Hindi. For JEE Main, websites like Careers360 give shift-wise question papers with answers in Hindi. For JEE Advanced, you can get both Paper 1 and 2 in Hindi from the official site jeeadv.ac.in (https://jeeadv.ac.in/)
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