Why do people oppose NEET in TN?
The very basic reasons stated for opposing NEET in Tamil Nadu are
1.Lack of uniform syllabus and quality teaching across the state
2.Unjustifiable advantage to students attending coaching classes and the affordability of such institutes among the poor and marginalized sections of the state
3.Monopoly of institutions in producing worthy candidates
4.Opportunity of rural students are dimmer with such exams
To understand whether these claims are genuine we have to break down and explain every point in detail
Lack of uniform syllabus:
It is a well-known fact that the education system in the country has different boards and different syllabuses. Every state has its own syllabus and board exams. This results in fluctuation of content across the nation. So naturally the question arises why are there different boards across the nation?
To answer the above question, we need an in-depth analysis. To understand this, we need to understand the education cycle. For a start, the education cycle is the process by which an educated community passes on an enriched enhanced improved and simplified version of the knowledge to their future generation. This can be done by two ways,
1.By inventions discoveries products and technologies for the betterment of the future generation
2.Teaching the future generation
while the former can ensure that the vision of education can be sustained the latter serves the purpose of inspiring the young minds.
The education cycle is impacted more by teaching, while inspiration is the fuel for the continuous learning experience. Teaching is done by teachers who are also a part of a learning process in a society. This learning process which impacts teaching directly is what I term as education cycle
Education cycle
Thus, a teacher is a direct product from the classroom. In a classroom, not all students get a perfect score and not all those who get a perfect score aspire to become a teacher. Thus, in developing countries like India the teaching career is impacted by socio economic factors. Some people aspire to become teachers, while some like the profession as it is a well payed job, while a few people take up this profession as they have no more options left. The former two reasons are the rabid cause for the decreasing standards in education. Further the so called bright students don’t opt to become teachers and they want a job that pays them higher this leads to a situation where the system has to compromise with the teachers that they have since some teachers are better than none.
How is the education cycle the cause for the various syllabuses in the nation?
Having already discussed how the education cycle impacts the quality of teachers it can be deduced that with a compromise on the quality of teachers the system has to compromise with an ideal or capable syllabus and teaching quality to suit the quality of teachers. It would be unfair to say that the teaching quality is affected only by teacher, there are several other factors that impact the quality of teaching.
The above are additional reasons that affect the quality of teaching. It is known fact that a private coaching facility has far superior infrastructure than a government school. Even the quality of questions and question papers vary between the two. Further India being a multi linguistic state with great variation in geography biodiversity culture and heritage and contributions to the nation it is hard to give a uniform syllabus for all yet MATHS SCIENCE VALUE EDUCATION and BASIC POLITY, SEX EDUCATION can be tailored common for all.
Having understood this, if CBSE is considered superior then how can state board cope up with them (it is a myth that all CBSE schools are top notch). If that’s the case then is it not unfair to ask both students to write a common exam. “Ok if that is the case then let’s make questions easier for state board students “, some would say, if that’s the case then the test is not so common! is it? more over will it not be a piece of cake for the CBSE to answer such question? So, in any way it is wrong to make the two boards appear for a common exam. This gap between the two is exploited by coaching institutes further already said that all CBSE schools are not top notch these institutes balance the difference within the CBSE itself.
There are a few questions that these coaching instituted must answer? 1.what mode of exam did these teachers in coaching centers pass to teach students? did they qualify any exam as would be needed to become teachers and professors in this country? 3. If they are so qualified what prevents them from teaching at schools? 3.Will these institutes ensure quality across the different brands they have and in the different places where they are situated? 4. While schools cannot promise you a seat in reputed colleges how is it so that these institutes do so? 5. Will these intellectual people training students for exams are willing to teach in rural areas where even basic amenities are a luxury?
There is a question that needs to be answered. Are these exams the correct mode of identifying intelligence? How does one come to the conclusion that the candidates who pass these exams are the worthy? What kind of knowledge do these exams require in addition to qualify? arithmetic speed? Better memory? Constant practice? Is the way of questioning justified in segregating potential candidates? For example
By saying way of questioning? Let’s take the concept of Capillarity and Kirchhoff’s law
The above two can be asked as a descriptive type objective question or as a numerical type objective question. But in both the cases a candidate who knows the definition of both these terms and the formula’s, arithmetic’s involved in these concepts can easily get the correct answer. But does that necessarily mean that the candidate knows to put these principles in real life scenario. For example, consider this way of questioning
With the help of capillarity design a simple submarine model and explain the various concepts of buoyancy involved in its operation?
Design a circuit such that the input voltage x is split to power 4 bulbs with voltage a1, a2, a3, a4 respectively? and differentiate resistor and a capacitor?
Which do you think is an ideal way to make students think? If that’s the cases then why do the question paper have to be totally objective in nature?
How do coaching centers prepare students for such exams?
It’s is difficult to frame a different or innovative type of question every time further most of the concepts are basic in nature and are not too complicated. Thus, to make sure that the question paper doesn’t become easy a certain difficulty level is added to the question. The ways in which the difficulty is added are
1.improved arithmetic knowledge
2.complicating the answer deriving process
3.avoiding repeatedly asked questions as much as possible
4.complicating the understanding process of the questions (good command of language)
5.not clubbing the questions involving similar concepts
6.combining different concepts (practically combinable) to produce results
Here the probability of avoiding repeatedly asked questions is practically not feasible for. Thus, a coaching institute takes advantage these known facts. They segregate the repeatedly asked questions they impart training to enhance the arithmetic ability of the candidate there by accommodating the time allotted for the exam for other purposes to enhance the results. They train the candidate well before the exam the various ways in which a concept can be questioned which practically destroys the purpose of the exam as this skill is not to be acquired in a stipulated period of time but a skill that has to be acquired over a period of time i.e., a hygienic process that has to take place in the classroom and schools throughout the years of learning.
Example, if the school had taught you about ratios and proportions it does not necessarily mean that you are equipped to face the different ways in which the concept can be questioned. This is where the question paper increases it difficulty naturally by slowly adding difficulty to the questions. There by finding out the candidates who have naturally acquired such skill to answer such questions. But what have these institutes done they have ensured that not a rock is left unturned making all x y and z ways of questioning available to the candidates. This has caused an imbalance in setting the question paper as now more candidates are familiar with more concepts making it all boil down to increased intake of concepts ruthless mock test and learning duration and increased stress on candidates to enhance what they have acquired naturally to compete with the people going to coaching centers as they are better equipped trained preinformed and familiar with such ways of questioning. This is how exams are being cracked.
The exams have merely coped up with the pace of coaching centers and not with the pace of learning in schools making coaching a necessity for many willingly or unwillingly. Its will be not an over exaggeration if I say that the coaching industry has destroyed the questioning process and learning process but also has made schooling unrelated.
The competition between institutes has only resulted in branding. If a student straight out of +2 is not able to answer a competitive question that means his learning process was faulty. You may argue that is it a sin to rectify one’s mistake? No it is not but you can always rectify on your own or with little help for that particular concept you are struggling with instead when you join the coaching industry you go through more than what you need and similar candidates at the same institute with better skill far excel you there by casting a cloud of uncertainty on every opting for such institutes. Not everyone opting for coaching pass the exam from the same institute while most of the students from a classroom can pass the exam.
Unjustified advantage to students
Isn’t there unjust when there is exceptional private schools and downtrodden government schools with a few exceptions on both occasions then why do you blame coaching institutes? – you may ask me the answer is even the students from exceptional schools join coaching which is something that needs to be addressed and even exceptional schools have recently started a separate teaching methods outside classroom hours or within classroom hours to cope up with such exam is this not a matter of concern if even the best schools regular schooling is not enough to crack such exams then the problem lies somewhere else. There cannot be a second opinion on improving the quality of government schools and rural education but has our country achieved this if not then what purpose does NEET fulfil? If the last school in our country cannot cope up with an exam then is it not necessary to first equip these schools and then increases the difficulty of question paper to scrutinize the students based on merit? The government seems to be happy with the balancing done by coaching centers in an unjust manner. This is yet another way to dispose itself of its duty towards social justice.
The biggest question is the claims of rural students losing their opportunity to bet an MBBS seat is false as very few students from rural background have got seats in the past years and is TN the only state to have rural students cannot be left unanswered. The simplest answer one can give is give us the statistics on how many from rural area got an MBBS seat in UP MP and rest of India? How many government colleges do these states have in comparison to TN? What is the proportion of students passing exams with the help of coaching institutes and integrated coaching classes?
What separates TN if this issue is across the nation and what will be justified if TN is exempted from NEET?
Just like there are loopholes in competitive exams there are loopholes in the state board exams that one could exploit but the fact is one need not spend extra money or extra hour for coaching to secure seat and even a decent government school with limited resources can produce good doctors. If the education standard of the state board is improved it can improve the quality of students but a different exam does not justify the cause. By exempting from NEET there is a level playing field at least at school level which can bring hope to lakhs of poor students. This is the reason why we need exemption from NEET
Way forward for TN
The way forward for TN is to improve the education standards from block level across the state. It must also ensure that its teachers are trained to teach students better. Once the above are done a common exam can be brought that can test the skills of various students based on the input of schooling and not based on the exploitative input of coaching centers
Has NEET solved the problems it claims to solve?
If you agree with most part of this article then you would have come to the conclusion that NEET has not addressed any of the root problems faced by students in the country. Further the claims of reduced fees are false. The cost of medicine is still quite high thus if a candidate X with higher marks securing a seat in a private college who is unable to pay the fees will naturally opt out paving way for candidate Y with lower marks with the financial resources?
There is much more to discuss but let this be a beginning. If we don’t acknowledge these problems today we will be forced to produce only a more stressed student community and not one which is innovative, free thinking etc.
–by a concerned citizen of this nation
edit: after receiving a few questions on social media i propose a interim solution below. comment on how you feel about this solution.
In any way there is no way students in their current situation can cope up with NEET so keeping that i mind i raise a few questions .
1. how long will it take to improve the standards of TN education ?
2. what should students do till the time needed for upgrading standards?
3. if not upgrading the syllabus was the mistake of the government then why should students suffer the punishment? is it because they have no rights to cast votes ?.
4. is an education that focuses on competitive exams really hygienic ?
5. can the quality of teachers infrastructure etc be improved within the upcoming NEET exam ? if it doesn’t happen the is it not denying justice to these students? if the quality does not improve then will this exam not benefit only the approachable and affordable masses ?
solution: Eradicate management quotas from medical schools in TN? ensure that +1 is taught at schools gradually improve the syllabus by removing lessons and providing new content in the form of handouts gradually improve the questioning methodology . once every thing is in place and right bring in the new syllabus and a let people compete on the basis of NEET till then let +2 be the way to enter medicine with the changes proposed being implemented till the new syllabus kicks in. It will be a win win situation for all
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