The Centre has recently announced that the national-level entrance exams JEE Main and NEET are to be assessed on their difficulty levels. This is to ensure that the JEE Main and NEET exam difficulty is in sync with the current class 12th curriculum. It has come amid several controversies associated with the coaching centres across the country. The panel, headed by Vineet Joshi, the Higher Education Secretary, is aimed at providing the centre with feedback comprising all the issues related to coaching. In addition to this, the panel will be suggesting necessary measures that the centre can take in order to reduce the dependency of students on coaching centres.
Coaching centres throughout the country have been involved in several controversies, including fire incidents, rising cases of student suicides, and a lack of appropriate facilities for the students. Back in June, a panel was set up by the Ministry of Education to examine the aforementioned issues associated with JEE Main and NEET coaching centres in India. The 9-member committee aimed to review the effectiveness and fairness of these highly competitive entrance exams.
As both the JEE Main and NEET exams are national-level entrance exams or higher education, it is imperative for these exams to be in sync with the class 12th curriculum. However, given the increasing number of students depending on coaching centres across India to appear in these examinations, this hints at a gap between the two. The panel set up by the Ministry of Education will examine this gap between the current schooling system and the difficulty level of these exams, due to which students are left with no option other than turning to coaching centres.
NEET, JEE Main Difficulty Review: MOE Panel to Suggest Measures
The major reason, as cited by the panel, for the gap is the limited focus of the current Indian schooling system on logical reasoning, critical thinking, analytical skills, and innovation. Among the terms of reference of the committee, along with the difficulty assessment and gap examination, are:
Evaluating the availability and effectiveness of services like career counselling in schools.
Assessing whether the students and parents are aware of multiple career options.
Impact of the lack of awareness among both the parents and the students on the over-dependence on coaching centres.
Strengthening career guidance frameworks in the schools.
The members of the panel set up by the Ministry of Education include:
This move from the Central Government has come amid the various controversies and complaints received by the government in relation to coaching centres. These include the rising cases of student suicides, fire and other hazardous incidents in the coaching centres, teaching methodologies adopted by the coaching centres, and the lack of facilities students are facing.
