Change assessment parameters to help TN students

The heat of NEET continues to swirl around Tamil Nadu. The embattled State is looking for ways to overcome the results of the Supreme Court’s order making NEET a compulsory and only way for admissions to medical education programmes across the country.

One set of parties is looking at the agitative route to protest what they see as an injustice to a proven method that has been in place in Tamil Nadu and thus force the Union government to come up with steps to overcome the Supreme Court’s order. Some other parties including the ruling AIADMK realize that could be a losing battle given the current mood of the Supreme Court. Also, the groups that are demanding restoring Education as a State subject under the Constitutional scheme are also not off the mark. Their argument that a large and diverse entity like India cannot have a single-size-fits-all command and control system in human resources development is completely agreeable.

Let us look at real-time data post the admissions scenario (consistent with the Supreme Court’s mandates). Long-time observers point out that:

More than 2,300 students admitted are from the State Board and about 1000 plus from the CBSE and other boards. Of the total 3,534 seats, more than 1,300 were previous year passouts, who spent a year pursuing coaching for NEET.

In the previous years when NEET was not used for admissions more than 33 per cent of the MBBS seats were cornered by students from Tamil Nadu’s own “coaching centres” in Namakkal, Salem, area.

Of the admitted students, more than 75 per cent of students from sections enjoying reservation benefits are from what can be called “creamy layer” – or at least those who could afford to spend money to take extra tuitions.

However, there’s still in the argument that the previous system was better because many of the toppers who got into MBBS, especially in top rated institutions in Tamil Nadu, were only those who had got “coaching” from the learning factories of Namakkal, etc.

What’s the way out: It can be argued that it is easy to give ideas, but they should pass the test of legality, be politically acceptable to all sections and continue to benefit the biggest stakeholders, namely the aspirants.

 State has started on the right note:  Two empowered panels - including one led by the School Education Minister KA Sengottiayan – to relook at the curriculum and improve standards - have begun work by a series of stakeholder meetings. Now Class 11 would also have public examinations.

The State has already announced its intent to start over 400 centres that would offer support and learning for NEET aspirants for the coming years. And these centres would be manned by expert coaches from other States too.

If these developments have to proceed in the right direction, consistency in energy and drive is a key factor. However, the teams involved must be cautious that the goal post need not be trying to ape the CBSE or NCERT curriculum. They need to be clear that the overall objective is to move away from a rote learning system, make the examinations easy enough for people to attempt but tough enough to ensure that getting a centum should be next to impossible.

A key end should be to create an assessment with an ideal combination of objective and detailed answer questions, with not more than 40 per cent questions from the textbooks, a range of questions that test the students’ understanding, analytical and critical thinking faculty; encourage the teachers and students to look beyond the textbooks during the teaching – learning process so that their imaginations are not curtailed by the books.

Everything should be within the curriculum, but everything need not be from the textbook – that should be the guiding principle.

Once this is done over a few years, TN will have the moral authority to showcase its capability to create the right pool of medical aspirants and argue with the Union Government to empower the State to follow its own native system of admissions to professional courses.