Entrance exam syllabus need not be reduced

Entrance exam syllabus need not be reduced

c-Puniti.Pandey@timesgroup.com

25.01.2021 

While the CBSE and many other state boards have reduced the syllabus for class X and XII to reduce the pressure on students, there have been no alterations in the syllabus for national level entrance exams such as JEE, NEET. Students, however, will have various options in the JEE question paper this year.

Speaking to Education Times, Dr Faheem Ahmed, associate professor, Department of Community Medicine, HIMSR, says syllabus for competitive exams cannot be shortened since the exams are not based on class XII syllabus.

Aspirants of competitive exam never limit their preparation to the course content of 10+2. Most students explore vast syllabus to crack the exams, he adds. “Reducing the syllabus will only increase the scores. However, the allotment of the seats in medical colleges is not based on score, but merit. There will be limited number of beneficiaries, even if the merit goes higher due to the limited number of seats in professional courses. Therefore, there is no need to relax the syllabus for entrance exams. Authorities may consider fee waiver in order to help the students, says Dr Ahmed.

Moreover, during the lockdown students had enough time to explore various knowledge banks as most of these are available online, she adds.

Favouring a reduction in the syllabus of JEE, M Afshar Alam, dean, School of Engineering Science and Technology, Jamia Hamdard says, “Since students are habitual for classroom teaching, their preparation must have been impacted during the pandemic. Reducing the syllabus for JEE will not have any major impact on the students’ future learning as JEE is based on class XII syllabus. Moreover, the students are taught the basics of Physics and Chemistry in the initial years of their engineering as well.”