Over one lakh candidates from the State would be appearing for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) on Sunday.
NEET is the qualifying exam for admission to medical courses in the country and will assess students on four subjects– Physics, Chemistry, Zoology and Botany. It will be held for 720 marks: 180 marks for each subject, and comprises two sections— Section A for 140 marks and Section B for 40 marks. This year, the School Education Department conducted specialised coaching through residential programmes, selectively. Students who had performed well in public exams were chosen for this dedicated coaching in a residential centre. But some residential centres were shut down after students contracted COVID-19.
Though the coaching began in November, it was only after the Class XII exams that students were offered dedicated coaching. In one centre, where 60 students were selected, students were offered coaching from 8 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. On Sundays, students were given the National Testing Agency pattern mock tests.
Teachers said they had covered entire Class XI portions in all the subjects. A teacher from Namakkal said around 100 students, keen on writing NEET from the district, were selected and provided accommodation in a private school in the district. “Teachers from government schools, as well as other subject experts have been coaching them daily, since June,” he said.
Tips for test
Balaji Sampath, founder, AhaGuru, has some tips to crack the exam: “Time management is key in an exam like NEET and candidates tend to pick hard questions to answer first at a stretch. The best option would be to tackle easy and medium questions first,” he said. It is best to mark the answer, soon after working on a particular question. “For students who have been consistently preparing for the last two years, if there is a question that they find unfamiliar, it is best not to guess answers and lose marks,” he said.
For Class XII students across Boards, the 2021-22 academic year was filled with uncertainty due to school closures and a delayed start to in-person classes. “There has definitely been a learning gap for students and this is a key challenge. We will have to see if this is taken into consideration and is reflected in the question papers,” said K. Swaminathan, Founder, Aspire, which coaches students for competitive exams such as NEET and JEE.
In another school, of 60 students, 15 are planning to take the test in Tamil. The students were offered coaching for JEE too. “We have given equal importance to both courses,” said a teacher. The residential programme was conducted for over 50 days with coaching from experts, she said.
Teachers have created WhatsApp groups and a Teams app link, and have been interacting with students through study materials and mock tests. Some dedicated trainers have been offering only online mentorship programme. Prasad Manne, secretary of Kilpauk Alumni Association, who roped in first and second year medical students in the college, has been mentoring students online. “We decided to do it online this time. We have only been mentoring them,” he said.
He has selected 30 students from government schools, all first-time test-takers. “This time we think students who will get medical seats under the special reservation for government school students may be repeaters will be more,” he said.
