This year, a qualifying test to avail of free coaching

Exam is expected to ensure that only the committed get in

The State government has decided to conduct a qualifying test to screen students who wish to join the free coaching classes it conducts for competitive examinations such as NEET and JEE from this academic year.

Based on the outcome of the test, which will be conducted for Class 11 and 12 students on August 7, schools have been instructed to prepare a list of students who do well and send it to the district and chief education officials. They will then pick the students who will attend the free coaching classes conducted by the Education Department.

While the coaching classes are mainly for Class 12 students, a limited number of Class 11 students too will be accommodated.

A senior official from the School Education Department said that in the last two years, schools had been asked to identify and send students to the coaching classes which were held over weekends. “While the first few weeks had good strength, many students chose to drop out of these classes. The test has been introduced to ensure that both teachers and the department are aware of students who are performing well and are committed to these classes, as well as ensure that students who are really interested in taking up the professional entrance exams derive maximum benefit from the coaching classes,” he added.

According to him, one student who had taken up the coaching offered by the School Education Department managed to get an MBBS seat this year.

“However, there was a definite improvement in the performance overall, as more than 2,000 students who took the free coaching classes cleared the exam this year and we are working towards preparing students better,” he added.

In 2018-19, around 19,000 students from government and government-aided schools across the State enrolled for coaching classes conducted during the weekends. Of this, 2,579 students had been selected for the ‘Thoduvanam’ programme, where they went through a residential crash course one month before taking NEET.

Over 48% of all students in Tamil Nadu who took NEET qualified this year.

Officials have further clarified that there will be no reduction in the number of coaching centres in any of the districts. The test will be mainly based on the Class 11 syllabus and will test the basic subject knowledge of the students. While schools have been instructed to identify and send in a list of students who will be taking the exam, the head of a government school from the city said that teachers have motivated as many students as possible to take up the qualifying exam.

Schools across the State have been instructed to compulsorily have practice tests based on competitive exams such as NEET and JEE every Friday starting August 9. In a circular from the Director of School Education, schools have been informed that they will be sent question papers for the same via email. “Through these measures, we hope to prepare our students to take up competitive exams at the national level and ensure that they do well,” the director said.

Criticizing this move, P.K. Ilamaran, State President of the Tamil Nadu Teachers Association, said that the government should not restrict the opportunity to undergo coaching. “More students should be encouraged instead to attend the coaching classes regularly,” he added.

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