Thoduvanam, a recently-launched initiative to run free coaching centres across Tamil Nadu to train students of government and government-aided schools for National Eligibility-cum Entrance Test (NEET) and other competitive examinations, has received mixed response from students and teachers with participation in Madurai district witnessing a decline over the past few weeks.
Projected as the first-of-its-kind model, the initiative, executed in cooperation with two private coaching institutes, was announced in the aftermath of the suicide of S. Anitha, a medical aspirant hailing from Dalit community, who could not clear NEET despite scoring high marks in Plus Two.
Of the 412 centres announced by the Tamil Nadu government across the State, 100 were opened in the first phase, of which Madurai now has three — one in each educational district of Madurai, Melur and Usilampatti. Bright students from each school are selected for the coaching based on their willingness.
Appreciating the objective, the headmaster of a girls’ higher secondary school in Madurai, however, said it was a question whether the initiative would actually benefit a wide number of students due to certain drawbacks in the model.
“For instance, these coaching classes are conducted on both Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. With regular school on the remaining days, where is the breathing space for students, who need time to at least revise what was taught,” the headmaster said.
Pointing out that a majority of the schools were conducting special classes during the weekends even for bright students to help them go that extra mile, she said that the students now had to choose between the special classes or Thoduvanam classes.
Echoing her thoughts, a headmaster from another higher secondary school near Melur opined that special classes were more effective because of their interactive nature. “Since, the classes are conducted by teachers from the same schools, they understand the specific needs of each child. Also, it is easier for students to get their doubts cleared,” he said.
In contrast, he pointed out that classes are conducted at the coaching centre through video lectures. “Though one teacher for every subject is deputed at the centre to clear doubts, the entire atmosphere is not conducive to interactive learning,” he said.
The students also complained about logistical issues. A student from a government school near Kottampatti said that he had to come all the way to a government-aided school in Tallakulam here.
“The free bus pass issued to us cannot be used for this. I spend around ₹ 40 per day,” he said, adding that it would also be better if government provided a simple lunch for the participating students since majority of them came from poor economic background.
A teacher posted at the centre in Tallakulam said that the enthusiasm has waned among the students. “There were close to 200 students at the centre on the first week. Now, there are only a little more than 100 students,” he said.
When contacted, N. Marimuthu, Chief Educational Officer, Madurai, said that the problem with long commute would be resolved once 12 more centres are opened in the district by January.
“It is a new initiative and problems, if any, will be addressed by the government in the future,” he said.
