Entrance tests vs board exam

Surrounded by rows upon rows of bookshelves at her college library, Supriya N (17) spends a significant amount of time daily considering which books she will take home to study that day. While her preparation for CET has only just begun, her PUC exams are less than a week away. She decides to borrow both sets of massive guidebooks. She will simply have to make time to go through both.

This season is busy and stressful for college students like Supriya. While they are busy attending the final exams, the upcoming general entrance exams like JEE, CET and NEET only add to their stress.

A large number of students preparing for competitive exams since high school. As the exam finally approaches, do college finals take a backseat? According to Supriya, a 2nd PUC student from the Government First Grade College in Malleswaram, prioritising one exam over the other is not an option. “Finding a balance between studying for college exams and CET is difficult. Sometimes I am not sure which one to focus on, but I want to score well, not just in CET but in my final exam too."

While there are a lot of syllabi to cover, Supriya believes that studying on her own has given her time to focus on both college and entrance exams.

However, striking such a balance proves difficult for most. “I have seen some very good students really struggle in their second year as entrance exams approach. Several crucial exams come at once, and PUC does become the second priority,” explains Susan Wadforth, an MBA professor based in Bengaluru, who has seen students getting overwhelmed.

The primary challenge is the vast syllabus. "We refer to the state syllabus, provided by NCERT. The portions for the first year of PUC itself are so excessive, that lecturers are barely able to complete them," said Sudha F, a Chemistry professor at a PU college in Bengaluru. While there is a slight overlap between NCERT, CET and NEET portions, it is not significant.

“As we teach, we try to highlight portions within the syllabus that are relevant to entrance exams. We also give students practical advice for the exams. Ultimately though, they need to study by themselves, since we need to focus on finishing the portions,” she adds.

Teachers and students agree that different exams require unique approaches. “As most entrance exams are multiple-choice type, students must study extensively and cover all the material. However, with the PUC syllabus, as the exam is more theory-based, students can choose to focus on a few key chapters," Sudha explains.

Additional coaching

A large number of students attend special training courses. In addition to regular classes, students spend approximately ten to fifteen hours a week on extra training for specific entrance exams. This leaves them with little to no time for extracurriculars, social interaction and leisure.

For some, a solution to the hectic schedule comes in the form of integrated courses. According to Anish Ganesh (17), a 1st PUC student of an international school, the JEE-integrated course has turned the preparation process around for him. “I started going for JEE training classes in the ninth grade. I would spend my weekdays at school and my entire weekend at the training centre. The only free time I had was dedicated to completing assignments.”

The integrated course merges the teaching of the PUC syllabus with training for JEE portions. "With my course, I only need to attend the day’s classes, and I am able to study for both, my PUC exams as well as the entrance exam. It has freed up so much time for self-study and even other activities like listening to music and playing football," says Ganesh.

Integrated courses and teachers approach the NCERT syllabus in a different way, with a greater emphasis on the portions that are more relevant to entrance exams. However, such courses are out of reach for most students, who cannot even afford additional training for entrance exams.

“Actually, with the scope of the material, students need more training for entrance exams. But our students perform well with the facilities they are provided. Last year, a student even got a medical college seat through CET,” said Sudha. She highlighted that despite this, there is still a great need for improvement of facilities and support for teachers and students, particularly in government colleges.

The scheduling of exams is a major concern. This year, PUC exams were rescheduled due to a clash with JEE dates. "My final exams end in mid-May, which gives me nearly one month to focus totally on CET," says Supriya. Other students will barely have a week between entrance exams and the PUC finals.

"There is increasing pressure from parents and peers to score higher than the rest," explains Susan, citing the breadth of portions to cover, limitations of time and high student-teacher ratios as factors that compound, creating an incredibly stressful environment for educators, parents, and most devastatingly, students.

There is a need for organising the schedule, streamlining the syllabi and ensuring better facilities in order to create a more enabling atmosphere for students to learn and perform well academically. "Awareness needs to be created, and parents and teachers need to have conversations about how to really help students excel in a healthy way," emphasises Susan.