ONCE IS NOT ENOUGH TO ACE NEET IN STATE
Repeaters Grab 3 Out Of 4 Seats In MBBS Courses, Pointing To The Influence Of Coaching In Acing Medical Entrance
Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com 17.10.2019
In a span of three years, the number of old students joining MBBS in Tamil Nadu has increased from 12% to 70%, after introduction of NEET. If the trend continues, the percentage of old students may touch 90% in the future.
The trend emerged from admission data provided by Directorate of Medical Education. The numbers, obtained through RTI, reveal that around 70% of students joining medical colleges in Tamil Nadu in 2019 were not straight out of school (seniors or repeaters) and had spent a few years preparing for the exam.
Of the 4,202 students who joined MBBS this year in the state, 2,916 were old students. While two students from the 2010 (Class XII) batch joined medical colleges, 2,371 from the 2018 batch have got admitted. Among 2,762 state board students who joined medical colleges, 2,402 students (87%) were repeaters. Of 1,368 CBSE students, 482 (35%) were old students.
In 2016, when admissions were last conducted based on Class XII marks, only 450 repeaters (12%) had joined the MBBS course. The huge number of repeaters joining MBBS courses points to the effect of an ever-growing NEET coaching industry.
According to sources, over 10,000 training centres, both formal and informal, have mushroomed all over the state in last three years, turning ‘NEET coaching’ into a Rs500 crore industry.
“NEET gives an advantage to old students as current students have to prepare both for board exams and common medical entrance,” said Dr GR Ravindranath, general secretary, Doctors Association for Social Equality.
He said the National Testing Agency should fix an upper age limit and cap number of attempts. “The syllabus for NEET also needs to be updated every three years to avoid giving undue advantage to old students,” he said.
At present, there is no limit on the number of attempts a student can make for NEET.
“It is becoming a trend that students need to spend one year extra for coaching to get MBBS seats. It takes time for students to change from board exam mode to competitive exam mode,” said Dr Prasad Manne, secretary, Kilpauk Medical College Alumni Association.
With more number of high scorers, the cutoff for the exam this year has shot up by 80 to 100 marks.
“With repeated practice and learning, a student with 300 marks last year is able to get 500 marks in his second attempt,” said P Swaminathan, secretary, SRV Schools.
The percentage of old students will increase in the coming years, he said. “The percentage of current batch students may go below 10% in a year or two.”
Repeaters Grab 3 Out Of 4 Seats In MBBS Courses, Pointing To The Influence Of Coaching In Acing Medical Entrance
Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com 17.10.2019
In a span of three years, the number of old students joining MBBS in Tamil Nadu has increased from 12% to 70%, after introduction of NEET. If the trend continues, the percentage of old students may touch 90% in the future.
The trend emerged from admission data provided by Directorate of Medical Education. The numbers, obtained through RTI, reveal that around 70% of students joining medical colleges in Tamil Nadu in 2019 were not straight out of school (seniors or repeaters) and had spent a few years preparing for the exam.
Of the 4,202 students who joined MBBS this year in the state, 2,916 were old students. While two students from the 2010 (Class XII) batch joined medical colleges, 2,371 from the 2018 batch have got admitted. Among 2,762 state board students who joined medical colleges, 2,402 students (87%) were repeaters. Of 1,368 CBSE students, 482 (35%) were old students.
In 2016, when admissions were last conducted based on Class XII marks, only 450 repeaters (12%) had joined the MBBS course. The huge number of repeaters joining MBBS courses points to the effect of an ever-growing NEET coaching industry.
According to sources, over 10,000 training centres, both formal and informal, have mushroomed all over the state in last three years, turning ‘NEET coaching’ into a Rs500 crore industry.
“NEET gives an advantage to old students as current students have to prepare both for board exams and common medical entrance,” said Dr GR Ravindranath, general secretary, Doctors Association for Social Equality.
He said the National Testing Agency should fix an upper age limit and cap number of attempts. “The syllabus for NEET also needs to be updated every three years to avoid giving undue advantage to old students,” he said.
At present, there is no limit on the number of attempts a student can make for NEET.
“It is becoming a trend that students need to spend one year extra for coaching to get MBBS seats. It takes time for students to change from board exam mode to competitive exam mode,” said Dr Prasad Manne, secretary, Kilpauk Medical College Alumni Association.
With more number of high scorers, the cutoff for the exam this year has shot up by 80 to 100 marks.
“With repeated practice and learning, a student with 300 marks last year is able to get 500 marks in his second attempt,” said P Swaminathan, secretary, SRV Schools.
The percentage of old students will increase in the coming years, he said. “The percentage of current batch students may go below 10% in a year or two.”
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