The state joint entrance board has decided to conduct next year’s medical and engineering entrance exams over two days — the biology test on April 19 and the physics, chemistry and mathematics tests on April 20.

The board has also announced that from next year students who will write the engineering entrance test need not study chemistry at plus-II.

The board had in June decided to hold the engineering entrance test on April 20. But the onus of holding the medical test fell on it following a recent Supreme Court verdict that scrapped the country-wide common medical entrance test.

The board split physics and chemistry into separate papers last year. “We have decided to spare students the hassle of writing all four papers on April 20 and conduct the biology test on April 19,” said JEE board chairman Bhaskar Gupta.

“It would be strenuous for the examinees to write a 350-marks test in a day. Besides, we tweaked the question pattern last year, introducing questions with multiple correct answers to minimise chances of examinees getting through by guesswork. Biology, too, will have a new pattern. Examinees may find it difficult to write so many papers in a day in the new format.”

A board member said math and biology will be 100 marks each. Physics and chemistry will be of 75 marks each.

The board has also introduced changes in the eligibility criterion for writing the engineering entrance test following a guideline of the All India Council of Engineering Education (AICTE).

Till this year, a student needed to study mathematics, physics and chemistry at the plus-II level to write the JEE (engineering). From next year, candidates may not study chemistry at plus-II. The AICTE guideline says while candidates for the engineering test must study math and physics, the third subject could be chemistry, biology, biotechnology or a technical vocational subject.

Next year, the board will issue a separate rank list for pharmacy aspirants.