NEET: Only 50 percent attend coaching classes

With only a few months left for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) UG test for admission to medical colleges, only 100 out of the scheduled 412 state-run competitive exam training centres have been opened so far. Government officials, however, say that all the centres will be opened by January 20.

While many parents and students think they might not have enough time, the School Education Department said they are leaving no stone unturned. The NEET exams are likely to be conducted in May and JEE in April. A top department official said, “This is an initiative taken by the government. We know that the schedule is tight. So far, the response has been encouraging,” he claimed. Around 13,740 students across the state have registered for these coaching classes so far. 

Centres in Chennai, Coimbatore and Dindigul have around 120-200 registered students but there are other districts where registration is low. A staff of a school in Salem district, said, “We had around 70 students who registered online but only 30-40 come on a regular basis. We are required to send a detailed report of the centre to the Education Officer of the district every week.” 

Another representative from the NEET training centre in Theni district said that of the 100 students who registered, 50 attend classes regularly. S Hema Priya, a Class 12 student from Chennai said, “Though I have registered online, I have not been going to the classes regularly. I live in Nungambakkam and have to travel to either Choolai or Ashok Nagar for these classes. My parents are not comfortable sending me so far. Hence I joined a private coaching centre” The TN Government had signed an MoU with the Speed Medical Institute for training students.  

VSAT technology is used to impart training via video interactions to all the centres at the same time. Another staff from a Government School in Coimbatore said, “Apart from the classes in the weekends, daily classes were conducted during the Christmas holidays, except on December 25 and January 1. At our centre, 150 students registered but around 80-90 come regularly. While most classes are conducted in Tamil, between 12.30-1.30 pm, classes are in English.”  

“Most of the research materials in Tamil are available but we are yet to receive the English books,” she added. The students must prepare for this while writing the board exams. “We will halt the weekend classes by mid-February and resume it once all the exams are over. After that classes will be organised daily,” said a School Education official.