NEET leak probe brings back attention to ‘coaching culture’ and unregulated industry

After the paper leak, the National Testing Agency cancelled and rescheduled the May 3 NEET exam, forcing over 22 lakh candidates to retake the undergraduate medical entrance exam.

This saga has brought back attention to the “coaching culture” prevalent in Maharashtra and the disproportionate influence held by these classes.

Why coaching classes work

As soon as a student passes Class 10, parents are inundated with calls from coaching centres for their children’s enrollment. “We also offer College Collaborative Programs (CCP) at various schools in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. For more information, please contact one of our admissions personnel,” says the brochure of a popular coaching centre in Pune. The claim is simple enough—schools and junior colleges are a waste of time; attend our coaching institute, get free attendance at one of the junior colleges we have a tie-up with, and score well in entrance exams like JEE and NEET.

It is natural for parents and students to be attracted to this offer. Getting into an IIT through JEE or bagging a government medical seat through NEET is one of the best ways to guarantee employment and a bright future in a country where both are in short supply.

D D Kumbhar, Vice-Principal of Pune’s reputed Fergusson Junior College, accepts that the state board’s junior college syllabus does not provide adequate training for students to crack national competitive examinations. “Maharashtra state board syllabus is adequate for CET, but not for JEE and NEET. The NCERT syllabus is followed for the competitive exams. This is a paradox, and therefore students have no option but to go for external coaching,” he said.

Missing out on practical experiments, college life

However, what students miss out on by not attending junior college is not insignificant. Coaching institutes don’t offer adequate practical experience in laboratories, nor do they focus on cultural events, sports facilities, or activities like those promoted by the National Cadet Corps or the National Service Scheme.

“There is zero approach to practicals in integrated classes. These students might pass JEE and NEET but lack practical exposure. Students who attend college and go to coaching classes get both types of knowledge. Coaching classes also don’t develop your social or emotional quotient. There is no cultural exposure,” Kumbhar said.

Taking note of the syllabus deficit at the national and state levels, the Maharashtra government has announced that by the 2028-29 academic year, the current state board syllabus will be phased out and an NCERT-based syllabus will be introduced. “If the NCERT syllabus is taught at state board schools, students will no longer need to go to coaching classes by default,” he added.

An unregulated industry

The Maharashtra government mandated biometric attendance in junior colleges in specific regions in 2018 to ensure that students are not able to enrol in “dummy colleges” having tie-ups with coaching classes. However, the rule has not been implemented strictly even in top colleges in cities like Pune, defeating its purpose.

Around the same time, the government also set up a 12-member committee to prepare rules to regulate coaching institutes. Bandopant Bhuyar, Vice-President of the Maharashtra State Consortium of Coaching Classes and a member of the committee, said, “Our committee submitted draft regulations to regulate the coaching industry, but the government is working at a snail’s pace.”

Proposed legislation based on the committee’s recommendations and Union Ministry of Education’s January 2024 guidelines to regulate coaching centres has still not been introduced in the Assembly.

Sachindra Pratap Singh, Maharashtra’s Commissioner (Education), told The Indian Express that the NEET paper leak had sparked discussions at the highest levels in the department. “In the coming year, we will try to push the legislation so that coaching is regulated. Secondly, biometrics. We need to do these two things. The nitty-gritty can be worked out after that. The department is now not granting approvals for standalone Class 11-12 junior colleges, and we will investigate if existing junior colleges are genuine,” he said.

Released in 2020, the National Education Policy (NEP) also noted the toxic environment created by the current structure of board and competitive exams. “The current nature of secondary school exams, including Board exams and entrance exams—and the resulting coaching culture of today—are doing much harm, especially at the secondary school level, replacing valuable time for true learning with excessive exam coaching and preparation,” it read.

But six years after the NEP was released, the number of students in coaching classes has only increased, and government-aided institutions suffer from the usual apathy.