NEET twice, change JEE schedule: Coaching Federation of India condemns paper leak

NEW DELHI: The Coaching Federation of India (CFI) has condemned the paper leak cases reported in the country and suggested that strict action be taken if any coaching is found to be involved in unfair means. It recommended the establishment of education task force to check on the irregularities before the leak. Moreover, it suggested that the NEET exam be held twice and JEE Main schedule 2024 be fixed after the completion of board exams 2024 to reduce stress among students.

The federation, in the list of suggestions to prevent paper leak, expressed its displeasure in terming the coaching industry as “mafia for any wrong done by a few”. It also criticised the educational institutions using paper leak to get publicity and encash student sentiments and play politics.

Listing the benefits of the coaching, the federation said “The need for coaching is not by compulsion but by choice and the coaching industry has helped in producing many quality engineers, doctors, lawyers, judges etc. It has also contributed in increasing GST collection, increasing employment and we request the government to recognize us and allot lands for coaching parks so that students can choose any center they want and get access to best facilities and we can have many more educational hubs like Kota in India.”

It also proposed uniform syllabus across the states by following different boards and the syllabus should be in synchronization with the syllabus of entrance examinations like Common University Entrance Test (CUET), Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), and National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).

Also read NEET in offline mode ‘impractical’, former IIT director suggests prelims, advanced like JEE

Change JEE schedule

The CFI suggested that exams like JEE Main should be shifted after board exams and be administered in April and May as students find it difficult to focus on entrance as well as school board exams. They also pointed out that “the entrance exam results are declared before their board exams and they find it difficult to focus on board exams and some even take extreme steps due to this pressure”.

Further, it proposed that the boards should be completed by March 10 and the first JEE attempt should be conducted in the first week of April and second attempt after one month.

Telegram channel

One of the major sources for paper leak has been telegram channel where lot of gullible students have been cheated in the name of paper leak, the coaching industry. The Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in a press conference, said that the paper leaks happened in Telegram and Darknet.

Also read Telegram link to NEET, UGC NET paper leaks unsurprising: Experts

Re-NEET 2024

“The matter of RENEET is subjudice and whatever the Supreme Court decides all should abide by and the decision is not going to be an easy one and each passing day is causing a lot of stress to students,” the CFI said.

On Re-NEET, the coaching industry said if there is injustice, conducting re-examination is the solution. "We, however, believe that the counselling should have started on 9th after the Supreme Court verdict," Keshav Agarwal said.

Among the other suggestions, the CFI recommended creating a helpline number to enquire about students' complaints, conducting the NEET exam twice, holding JEE Main 2024 in March and May.

“In case the board weightage is not taken then the percentage should be around 75 percent for the subjects taken in the entrance exam,” it added.

“We have to reduce the involvement of manpower in competitive exams. Hold pre and final exams for NEET-,” AK Jha JRS tutorials said. The final exams should be like JEE Advanced and should also reduce the number of students being selected.

Pramod Maheshwari said that there should be a common syllabus for all irrespective of the board. “It will reduce the burden on state boards. Coaching institutions are an integral part of the education system and they help deserving students to get into medical education through quality education,” it claimed.

This year, more than 23 lakh candidates appeared for just 1 lakh MBBS seats. The CFI linked the major reason for paper leak to the vast difference in demand and supply in the medical seats.