CHENNAI : Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Monday launched a project to provide free coaching for Plus-Two students to enable them take competitive examinations, including the controversial National Eligibility- cum-Entrance Test or NEET. Billed as the first-of-its-kind initiative in the country, there will be 412 training centres across the State (one per panchayat union).
The scheme will benefit students in government and government-aided schools. So far, around 73,000 students have enrolled for training. As many as 25 centres started functioning on Monday. Soon, all 412 centres would be operationalised. The medium of instruction will be Tamil and English. The students will be given 30 books as training material. Classes will be conducted on weekends so as not to affect regular classes of the Plus-Two course.
After the examinations are over, these training classes will be conducted on a daily basis during holidays.
Addressing students at a function got up for launching this scheme, the chief minister referred to the suspicions raised in several quarters whether the students of the State syllabus could succeed in the national competitive examinations.
He said the present syllabus prescribed by the Tamil Nadu government was in no way inferior to any other syllabus in the country. Our present need is to train our students to face the competitive examinations.
Since training would be given by experts in the field, there will be no need to undergo any other training; that is, the students need not spend anything on other training courses, he added. Both Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam spoke through video-conferencing facility from the function venue to the students gathered at Edappadi, Gobichettipalayam and Tuticorin.