With 527 students gaining eligibility for the National Means-Cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMSS), Perambalur district has set an example worthy of emulation for ramping up success rate in the entrance test that entitles successful students to get Rs. 12,000 per annum from levels IX to XII.
The School Education Department in Perambalur adopted a two-pronged approach to mobilising more number of students for the exam and arranging for experts to train teachers on the nuances of the exam constituting Scholastic Ability Test and Mental Ability Test, each of 90 minute duration.
Students of VIII standard in government and aided schools appeared for the exam conducted during March. Those with 55 percent of equivalent in class VII were adjudged eligible for the selection test. For SC/ST students, there was a relaxation of five percentage points.
To succeed in the exam, entailing one lakh scholarships across the country, the students had to score an aggregate of 40 percent in SAT and MAT. For SC/ST students, 32 percent was sufficient to avail themselves of the utility of the NMMSS.
"We doubled up the number of students from 1,000 to 2,000 this year, and prepared them for the exam with extra efforts on the part of school heads and teachers. A group of teachers was initially trained by experts to provide apt coaching for MAT and SAT, and they, in turn, trained other teachers zone-wise. We ensured that there is at least one trained teacher per school for disseminating the expertise they had gained among the students," the Chief Educational Officer of Perambalur District, Arivalagan said.
In terms of success-rate in the NMMSS, Pudukottai came next with 198 students followed by Thanjavur with 185 students succeeding in the entrance test, 136 in Tiruchi, 79 in Thiruvarur, 58 each in Ariyalur and Karur, 49 in Mayiladuthurai and 48 in Nagapattinam.
"Though a total of 5,900 students in Tamil Nadu gained eligibility this year, there is a cause for concern as the allotted quota of 6,695 candidates for the State could not be fulfilled," Tiruchi-based educationist S. Sivakumar, former Principal of District Institute of Education and Training, Kancheepuram, said.
"It is of utmost importance for teachers to start preparing students for the exam from class VII onwards. The School Education Department could explore the scope of offering training for MAT/SAT by integrating the modules in the working hours, and by bringing out study material in English and Tamil," Mr. Sivakumar said.
