Poor response to NEET coaching

(Rep image)

Headmasters of government schools are finding it difficult to mobilise students for NEET coaching being offered free of cost to students during week-ends at 16 locations in the district.

According to teachers, the enrolment is satisfactory only in two schools in Tiruchi urban block: St. Joseph’s College Higher Secondary School and Bishop Heber Higher Secondary School, Teppakulam.

Response of students is stated to be moderate in schools at Musiri, Mannachanallur, and Thuraiyur. In the rest of government schools identified as nodal centres, the response is not up to the mark. Headmasters of government schools at Marungapuri, Pullambadi and Anthanallur unions, for instance, are struggling to find students for NEET coaching, sources said. The delivery mechanism adopted for NEET coaching, a post-graduate teacher of a government higher secondary school said, does not suit average students. A perception has set in among even bright students in government schools that NEET is rather difficult to crack, a headmaster of a government higher secondary school in Lalgudi union, said.

Since the students were not acclimatised to learning through video-lectures, it was difficult to predict the utility of the initiative, another headmaster said.

The hope of the education department officials is that bright students will utilise the opportunity to get trained well for a month during the summer vacation. However, students residing in remote areas face difficulty.

There is no clarity on the validity of free bus passes. There are apprehension among school heads that the students will drop out if they are constrained to spend heavily on transport. Teachers of very many government schools give financial support to bright students to attend the training programmes at the nodal centres, it is learnt.

Source