Interest to take up NEET low among rural students

Next week, the State-sponsored crash course for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) will begin.

The School Education Department is in the process of sending laptops to the Chief Educational Officers, which will be then be distributed to students registered for the test. These students would then be sent to the select residential crash course centres for training.

School principals have informed the students who have registered to get consent letters from their parents to allow their wards to be sent to residential centres. The government is making separate arrangements for boys and girls in these residential centres.

In rural areas, the government-sponsored NEET crash course has not been received with much excitement. In some districts, there is little interest as parents are not motivated enough, officials said.

In some districts, teachers noticed a significant drop in the number of students attending the coaching at the block level after the government increased the bus fare, they added.

“The toppers in each block were sent for coaching under the Thoduvaanam programme. But not all the students showed interest in pursuing medical education,” said K. Kandasamy, Principal of Government Higher Secondary School in Pottapatti in Madurai district.

Only one student had registered for NEET from his school. “We have bought him books to prepare. He is a good student and we have enrolled him for the crash course. The books are pricey and many of my students cannot afford it. Some of these books cost ₹700 to ₹800,” he noted.

M. Jambu, treasurer of a postgraduate teachers association, said there was a lot of interest among students in Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram district.

But, students in Villipuram district were not showing much interest, according to a teacher. “It is a challenge even to ensure that these students finish Class 12. Most people in this district are migrant labourers. The children grow up either in single parent households or sometimes with grandparents,” he added.

“I saw more absenteeism during the Class 11 public exam. Usually regular students would never skip exams. It is normal to see one or two students not taking the public exam but I noticed that in the five schools that I visited as a route officer, there were more than five or six absentees,” said K. Thirumal, a teacher in Government Higher Secondary School in Avanipur in Villupuram district. “When there is little interest in even completing the school exams, we cannot expect them to take up competitive tests at the national level,” he rued.