Representative image showing a person taking online class
Credit: iStock Photo
Bengaluru: Pre-University students selected for free online JEE-NEET and CET classes have opined that they would have been better served had the Department of School Education and Literacy started the classes sooner.
A second-year PU student at the KR Puram Government College in Bengaluru pointed out that they would only be taught how to tackle the competitive examinations for all of three months. Meanwhile, another student felt that the online classes ought to be scheduled even during the weekend to compensate for the delay.
However, the students are, nevertheless, grateful to the government for offering free coaching to help them crack the competitive examinations. “Many of dream of getting a seat in one of these premier institutions and become a doctor or an engineer. But our financial conditions are such that we can’t afford private tuitions. Free online coaching offered by the government is a boon for us,” said Pavan Kumar, a student at the Malleswaram Government PU College.
Other students felt that it would only be fair to extend the programme to all the government colleges across the state. In all, 25,000 students, who cleared an online examination conducted by PACE, were selected for the programme this year.
“Some of my friends in class could not clear the test, and were disappointed. I request the government to allow students from all state-run colleges to enrol in these online classes,” said Sanvi, another student who is benefitting from the free classes.
Minister for School Education and Literacy Madhu Bangarappa, who flagged off the programme on Wednesday, said that the government would make a sincere attempt to extend the initiative to cover at least one lakh students next year.
“This year, even if students have not been selected, they will be allowed to sit for the online classes, and share the materials provided to the students,” said the minister. The government has partnered with PACE for the next two years. And although a sum of Rs 12 crore was earmarked for the initiative in the budget, the government finalised a deal with PACE for Rs 7 crore.
Classes are conducted for an hour before classes commence at the college, and for the same duration after college. Students missing the class need not worry since they can access the recorded sessions through STEPApp.
“All the teachers hired by the company are from Karnataka, and know Kannada. The teachers will teach the students in both English and Kannada,” said Madhu.
Minister irked
A student’s passing remark about Minister Madhu Bangarappa did not please the latter. “Education Ministers don’t know Kannada,” remarked a student during the interaction. And although Madhu did not seem to mind at first, he subsequently instructed officials to identify the student, and act against the same. “Who passed that comment? Am I talking in Urdu now? Record it, and take action. This is stupid, and should be taken seriously,” said the minister. The BJP expressed outrage over the minister’s decision to initiate action against the student. In a post on ‘X’, the BJP dubbed the minister’s action ‘unfortunate’.