Teachers organise free NEET classes

Venkatesh T, a Chemistry teacher from Kanchipuram, was disheartened that some of his brightest students couldn’t crack the Nation Eligibility-cum-Entrance test (NEET).

“The disappointment of my students was apparent. They didn’t have enough time to prepare and the uncertainties around the test made things worse for them. The major point brought about those who protested against NEET was that students from underprivileged background did not have the resources to go to private coaching centres. After discussing this with two of my other colleagues, we decided to start a free coaching class for the students,” says Venkatesh, who spread the word through social media. 

“I put a post on Facebook informing students from government schools to participate and in the first week, we had around six students,” he added. 

The private coaching classes can cost anything between 10,000 and 20,000 annually and not everyone can afford it. The classes, exclusively for government school students, are organised every Sunday for three hours at Chinmaya Nagar near Koyambedu. 

“We have booked a room for a few hours near Koyambedu, a place that is easily accessible through public transport. We started our first class on the eve of Kamarajar birth anniversary. We have received many enquiries from students and parents and we are expecting more students in the coming weeks,” adds Venkatesh.

Srinivasan S, a physics teacher from ICF of explains that they are starting the training with  the teaching of the concepts. At present, the sessions are, only for Class 12 students, but depending on the enquiry, they may extend the facility for Class 11 students. “We are beginning with the concepts, around which the questions are framed. When it comes to Physics, the students are required to solve problems. We will be teaching them the tricks to solve such problems in record time. As the exam nears, we will be giving the sample papers to train them on time management.”

The school education department had earlier announced that they would organise weekend classes for preparing students for the board exams but a highly-placed source in the department said that they were planning to organise NEET coaching classes in the future for government schools.