Online application starts for OJEE

Admissions for Odisha Joint Entrance Examination (OJEE) 2013 began on Wednesday even as private engineering colleges have moved the Orissa high court demanding offline option along with the online mode.

Students can download the forms from the website www.odishajee2013.com. Earlier, they had to purchase the forms from various banks and post offices. Aspirants can also get their admit cards and rank cards online through this new system. The last day of online submission and registration is March 20.

Students can apply with a fee of Rs 550, which they will be required to pay online through bank challans, debit cards, credit cards or net banking.

Besides engineering, MBA, MCA and pharmacy two new subjects — bachelors in ayurvedic medicine and surgery (BAMS) and bachelors in homeopathic medicine and surgery (BHMS) courses have been included under the OJEE.

For the first time, the OJEE has uploaded the question papers of 2011 and 2012 for students to familiarise themselves with the question pattern. The state government has also decided to do away with the system of awarding negative marks.

“Last year when both online and offline mode was available, only 13% students opted for the online mode while the rest 87% exercised the offline option. Our students need some more time to get used to online applications,” said OPECA honorary secretary Binod Dash.

OJEE authorities said the students will anyway have to submit online applications from next year when Odisha will be part of the national level pre-admission test for admission in professional courses from 2014. OJEE 2013 is the last state level test.

While medical entrance is out of the purview of OJEE this time, as national eligibility-cum-entrance test replaced the state level tests, the government has brought admission of bachelor of ayurvedic medicine (BAMS) and bachelor of homoeopathic medicine (BHMS) courses under it.

Along with these, admissions in engineering, MBA, MCA, pharmacy and architecture courses in the state are done on the basis of OJEE. The entrance is scheduled to be held on May 12. Around one lakh students are expected to appear in the test.