Chennai: After the central government’s announcement that NEET exam will be conducted in 8 languages including Tamil, the educationists are wondering whether the same will benefit the Tamil medium students as the exam will be conducted based on CBSE syllabus.
“Whether our students will benefit by the NEET exam in Tamil will depend on which syllabus the students are studying,” said M. Anandakrishnan, former vice-chancellor, Anna University.
“If they are studying in CBSE syllabus then the medium of instruction or question paper will not make much difference.” “But our current state board students cannot shine in the exam even if it is conducted in Tamil as they are studying in the substandard syllabus,” he said.
“Compared to CBSE syllabus our state board higher secondary syllabus is of a very low standard. Most of the state board students are lacking basic subject knowledge. Without a basic subject knowledge and coming from the defective syllabus, it will not benefit our students,” he pointed out.
However, the government school headmasters have welcomed the announcement. “We are welcoming the announcement. Most of the government schools students are studying physics, chemistry and biology only in Tamil. So, they will have difficulties in understanding the questions if it is conducted in English,” said M. Ponmudi, president, The Tamil Nadu Higher Secondary Headmasters’ Association.
There is also concern among them about the syllabus for the exam. “Our students will not qualify for medical admission if the questions are not based on the state board syllabus. The students who are studying in the CBSE schools and students who are taking special coaching for the medical entrance test alone can qualify,” he added. SRV schools secretary P. Swaminathan pointed out that there are not enough study materials available in the Tamil language.
“All the available materials are only in English. So, it puts the English medium students at an advantage. Some students may qualify for studying in the medical courses, but they cannot get admission based on their marks in NEET,” he said.
