Coaching reforms: Centre panel exploring possibility of conducting entrance exams at class 11 level

A Centre-appointed panel for suggesting reforms in entrance exams and reducing dependency on coaching centres is exploring the possibility of holding crucial entrance exams in class 11 or aligning the grade's exams with their difficulty level, according to officials.

The panel is analysing data to study if the difficulty level of entrance exams is in sync with the difficulty level of Class 12 curriculum, which is the basis of these exams.

Last year, the Ministry of Education set up a nine-member panel to examine issues related to coaching, the emergence of 'dummy schools' and the effectiveness and fairness of entrance examinations.

The panel, headed by Higher Education Secretary Vineet Joshi, will suggest measures to reduce the dependency of students on coaching centres for transition to higher education.

"In its recent meeting, the stakeholders suggested that if few of the entrances can be conducted at Class 11 level or at least the exams for this class be in the same MCQ format as that of the entrance exams. The possibility is being studied," a source said.

"The committee is examining the gaps in the current schooling system that contribute to students’ reliance on coaching centres, particularly the limited focus on critical thinking, logical reasoning, analytical skills and innovation and the prevalence of rote learning practices," the source added.

Limiting coaching hours, redesigning school curricula to mirror post-school competitive entrance examinations and giving greater weightage to board examination results are also among the suggestions received by the panel.

Among the other terms of reference of the committee is, firstly, finding out the extent to which students and parents are aware of different career options and the resulting impact on their over, reliance on a handful of prestigious institutions due to lack of awarenessSecondly, it involves evaluating the presence and performance of career counselling services in schools and colleges and recommending ways to improve these educational career guidance systems.

The board is headed by the chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE); includes joint secretaries from the school education and higher education departments; representatives of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, National Institute of Technology (NIT) Trichy, IIT Kanpur and National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT); and school principals (one each from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Navodaya Vidyalaya and a private school) as the members of panel.

Coaching centres in the country have been in the eye of the storm for a number of issues and the move comes after complaints were made to the government regarding the increasing cases of student suicides, fires and poor facilities in coaching institutes, as well as the teaching methods employed by them.