Rural students in lurch as Karnataka govt closes online coaching platform

The Congress government has discontinued one more project that was introduced by the previous BJP regime.

GetCETGo, an online coaching platform for NEET, JEE and KCET aspirants started during the 2019-20 academic year, has been discontinued. As per data available from the department, at least 2 lakh students benefited from the programme every year, since its launch.

The programme was launched targeting rural students, mainly those aspiring to take up the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) as they lack access to private coaching. It was aimed at improving the participation of rural students in NEET.
 
This coaching was not only during the exams. Instead, it was designed for access throughout the year and linked with the learning management system (LMS) platform of the Department of Collegiate Education (DCE).

Study materials

The platform was designed on the concept — learn, revise and test. The platform had all relevant study materials pertaining to JEE, NEET and CET, including videos, a summary of lessons and a mock examination facility. Interested students could access the online platform by registering personal details.

The coaching was available through the website, on YouTube or GetCETGo app. The training was imparted by Deeksha Institute.

Chandana coaching

Also, the coaching offered by the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) through DD Chandana channel was discontinued a few years ago. 

With GetCETGo being stopped now, rural and government college students are left with hardly any coaching programme they can rely on. Officials in DCE said GetCETGo should not have been discontinued. 

"Going by the low share of Karnataka students in NEET, a programme like GetCETGo was needed," said a senior official of the department.

MCQ worksheets

The Department of Pre-university Education (DPUE) has allowed government college faculties to train students by providing Multiple Choice Based (MCQ) worksheets if the student wishes.

"We are not conducting it as coaching as we cannot force students to take up competitive exams. In some districts, students and teachers are doing it voluntarily," said a senior official of DPUE.