Contents of new textbooks match NEET questions

An analysis of questions asked at the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) has found a 100% correlation between the questions asked in the physics and chemistry sections and the Class 11 and 12 textbooks in the new syllabus of the State Board. In the case of chemistry, botany and zoology too, answers to as much as 99% of the questions could be found in the new textbooks.

“It came as a shot in the arm,” said T. Udhayachandran, Secretary, (Curriculum Development), School Education Department, adding: “We did a comparison between the content of the new textbooks and the recent NEET question papers and found that almost 50% of the questions were from the Plus One portion. We checked whether those questions are reflecting what we have incorporated in the new textbooks and found that it was 100% in physics and 99% in botany and zoology.”

Rita John, head of theoretical physics, University of Madras, who is the chairman of the redesign committee for the physics textbook, said she analysed the question paper and found that of the 11 questions covering mechanics, five were direct, three were slightly indirect and three were application-oriented.

“It was disheartening to see people advise students to skip physics and focus on biology and zoology,” she said. She analysed the question papers of various competitive exams, including NEET, JEE and the Physics Olympiad, to understand what was expected of students.

She is currently preparing a manual for teachers. “The aim is to build their confidence. Around 47% of students who scored centum in Class 12 are failing in physics in Anna University. I took up the redesign as a challenge,” she said, adding: “We are now encouraging students to learn on their own by giving links to various topics and a QR code through which they can access video lessons.”

Developments included

Sultan Ahmed Ismail, director of Ecoscience Research Foundation, who helped develop the zoology portion, says by incorporating overlapping topics such as genetics under one head for both zoology and botany, more space was created to include latest developments in biotechnology, genetic modification and cloning. “There is immense input of knowledge. We have highlighted information in boxes within chapters. We look forward to the government organising a series of workshops to orient the teachers and update them,” he said.

The question for retired botany professor D. Narasimhan was whether to write a textbook to meet requirements of a competitive test or update students’ knowledge. “We have set new standards for the students. The concern was whether rural students would do well. But the new textbooks will force the colleges to upgrade their syllabus,” Mr. Narasimhan said.