NEET: 500 free Centres from October End
The 50,000 questions that experts are preparing to help students in the state crack competitive exams like NEET would be released in phases from the end of this month, education minister K A Sengottaiyan said on Thursday.
The 1,000-2,000 questions that will be released each week would give time for teachers and students to tackle a set of questions at a time and prepare accordingly, he said.
The minister was speaking during the state principals’ conference on `Futuristic Schools’ organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Tamil Nadu.
The curriculum framework, which is expected to be ready by November, will be made accessible to the public for a span of 10 days during which feedback will be invited, he added. “Suggestions will be taken from stakeholders and members of the public to incorporate them into the revised curriculum,” he said.
Nearly 500 free NEET training centres will also be set up by the end of the month.Identity cards will be given to students to walk into these centres.
Asked about the teacher requirement for these centres, Sengottaiyan said there were enough teachers for the purpose and that training would be carried out through several means, including video tutorials.
Earlier, speaking at Sathyabama University on the occasion of World Space Week, the minister had declared that the training centres for competitive exams would be set up in all 32 districts by the end of November. Sengottaiyan also said that work on setting up Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-enabled classrooms would start by November 15 with the process of floating tenders scheduled to begin next week. A sum of `437 crore had been allocated earlier for the setting up of these classrooms for students of Classes IX to XII.
Reflecting on several such measures, delegates at the CII conference focused on how schools would have to adapt to the changes that are being brought into the system.
“For the current situation, how fast will schools have to move to acclimatise to the new patterns being brought into the educational setup? Schools will vary from city to city so there are challenges that will have to be kept in mind,” said P Diwya, executive officer, CII, Southern region.
A report with inputs on the educational system from principals from across schools in the state had been submitted to the education department, she said.. Thangam Meganathan, chairperson of the Rajalashmi group of institutions, said that the conference was a networking and knowledge-sharing base for teachers from across 150 participating schools in the state. It was aimed at providing a platform where they could make suggestions about new practices and steps to improve. “Schools are crucial because that is where change can be triggered to adapt ourselves for the changes in the future,” she said.