To curb the menace of coaching institutes around the country to
crack the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), the government will soon launch
free JEE study material for aspirants. With a total of more than 11 lakh
aspirants targeting JEE, the government hopes the study material will make
students less dependent on coaching institutes.
On the condition of anonymity, a senior government official told
PaGaLGuY about the recent technology-enabled learning initiatives of the
government. “We are currently working on three projects which will be launched
in a few months’ time. With a team of experienced professionals, lecturers, and
teachers, we are preparing study material which will be launched for students
all over India through 32 free-to-air DTH channels with the help
of Doordarshan. We
will also release a detailed guiding website, where they can check the
programme details, channel schedule etc.”
In May 2016, the Ministry of Human Resource Development had also
announced a project, IIT PAL to help engineering aspirants in their preparation
for JEE. The proposed application would have past 50 years’ JEE question
papers and video tutorials from IIT professors.
The official continued, “IIT PAL will also be launched through free-to-air
DTH channels, and this is mainly for JEE aspirants so that they don’t feel
the need to join a coaching institute. Though it is a shift from traditional
classroom coaching, the video tutorials will help them understand the topics,
and thus prepare for JEE.”
Parents spend a lot money on coaching institutes, and the government
hopes to control that as well. “We will soon launch ‘Swayam‘ platform, a massive open
online course system, where JEE aspirants will get their regular assignments
and tests. The platform will also be open to students currently studying in
colleges and will offer a variety of courses,” the official added.