Students appear for an entrance.
Credit: DH PHOTO
New Delhi: Competitive exams could be headed to an overhaul with the Centre forming panels to analyse whether exams like JEE and NEET need to be brought in line with school curriculum so that students eliminate the need for coaching.
The Union Ministry of Education is also looking at whether NEET can be held in CBT mode. The latter, however, will need a consensus with the Health Ministry.
Sources in the Education Ministry said that a panel, headed by higher education secretary Vineet Joshi, is trying to understand if coaching is mandatory for competitive exams and if it is interfering in the school education process.
“We are looking at relevant data to see if coaching can be removed. However, a strong view from educators is that it is impossible to sit for JEE without coaching,” a senior ministry official said.
With this view, as several parents have pointed at the mismatch in curriculum and exams, the committee is exploring whether the difficulty level of the exams could be brought to the level of the curriculum.
The committee formed in June, has as members the chairman of CBSE, members from IIT Madras, NIT Trichy, IIT Kanpur, NCERT and a member each from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Navodaya Vidyalaya and a private school, besides the Secretary, department of School Education.
The committee has also recommended that coaching centres be regulated, particularly their advertising practices, which often mislead students and parents.
The committee has also asked that school curriculum be redesigned to better align with competitive exam formats, and that the frequency of entrance exams be increased throughout the year to reduce the stress on students.
The Education Ministry has also formed another panel to see if CBT mode can be opted for in the NEET, the medical entrance exam.
“A panel is analysing data from exam centres to see if CBT mode can be opted for and if that will bear any learning loss for students, especially for students from remote areas,” a senior ministry official said.
Keeping in mind the principle of no discrimination, the ministry said that, in principle, it is doable. The Health Ministry, however, is not very keen on the idea, said sources.