The School Education Department on Thursday announced guidelines to train students for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).
According to a press release, the headmasters have to prepare a list of students who are interested in writing these tests. The students from government and government-aided schools will be identified and given coaching from 4 p.m. to 5:30 pm. on all working days.
Coaching will be full time during the half-yearly and annual holidays before the NEET exam. The coaching will be conducted at government-appointed centres in Botany, Maths, Physics, Zoology and Chemistry.
Teachers from government and government-aided schools will train these students. Every subject will have two teachers. A separate committee will prepare the syllabus and mock test question papers for the students. A district-level education support committee will also be formed to train the teachers in the entrance exam syllabus. Students who have already cleared the exams can also volunteer for this exercise.
“The response from the students for this coaching has been good. I teach biology every year and the students are enthusiastic to crack the exams. This time, the daily coaching is a new addition. We are yet to receive instructions in this regard,” said a teacher from a government-aided school in Chennai.
However, Tamil Nadu Post Graduate Teachers’ Association general secretary S. Prabhakaran was apprehensive about the new plan of conducting everyday classes as there are not enough teachers. “This also clashes with practical classes which might be a problem,” he said.