Cracking competitive exams just don’t define your life
Meet Raj Kumar (name changed to protect his identity) from a well-to-do family in Patna, sitting in a tiny room, with no laptop, smartphone or TV, not even proper ventilation, studying close to 16 hours every day. Either he is previewing next day’s lessons or reviewing yesterday’s. Not a second to spare, even for his parents, jumping from one question to the other. Welcome to Kota, Rajasthan, capital of India’s cram schools or ‘coaching centres.’
Kumar, an eighteen-year-old, is hell bent on cracking AIIMS 2016, the gateway to the glamourized profession of a medical practitioner. Why does he study so hard, not even thinking about his friends? He does want to; but cut-throat competition comes in the way. “The only thing I want to know is whether my friends are scoring better than me in the weekly test,” says Kumar with a sheepish grin. He might be one of the lucky ones. Not his neighbour (name withheld), housed in a jail-like hostel, who committed suicide, unable to take the stress anymore.
A scary picture
Every year over 60-70,000 thousand students make a beeline to Kota, the hub of the multi-billion-dollar coaching industry. Cracking JEE Advanced will get you a seat in an IIT. Cracking AIIMS could get you a seat in India’s most prestigious medical college. This guarantees excellent pay packages or a ticket to the UK or US. By a conservative estimate, a two-year coaching will set back parents by cool 4-lakh rupees and if you add boarding and lodging the figure could cross Rs. 5 lakhs, making India’s coaching industry worth more than USD 7 billion.
When results come, newspapers get full-page advertisements that proudly announce the details of students who have cracked the toughest possible entrance tests to qualify for medical or engineering colleges. The fact of the matter is that the winners make only a tiny percentage of students across the country that flock to Kota-like hubs to attend coaching classes.
Pressure cooker situation
A recent spate of suicides among these teenagers has highlighted the amount of pressure they face every day in order to secure top ranks. This pressure is not only about pursuing a dream career but also an emotive issue of social status. But for a few, a majority of the students would have joined these coaching institutions under parental or peer pressure. The tough schedule at the coaching centres makes life miserable for these teenagers who earlier enjoyed a cozy lifestyle with their parents. Emotional breakdowns become common among students these days; a major reason being peer pressure and family expectations. Eagerness to outscore the peers also triggers a breakdown.
“Some students feel that they are not intelligent enough to compete with their classmates and some others feel that their parents’ hard-earned money will be wasted if they do not perform well,” says Aakash Chaudhary, Director of Aakash Educational Services, a dominant player in the coaching industry.
Fear of failure
Psychologists say that students’ inability to accept failure under pressure mostly leads to emotional breakdowns. “The cut-throat competition, inability to accept the failure and blindly following the rat race under pressure from parents and peers lead to high pressure and depression resulting in suicides,” says Dr. Rakhi Anand, Consultant Clinical Psychologist at New Delhi’s Indraparstha Apollo Hospital.
Role of parents
Psychologists are of the view that parents should accept their children the way they are in terms of ability, intellect and inclination towards a career. Coaching experts accept the fact that along with parents, they too have to connect with the students and build an environment of trust. “Children should not be judged on the basis of comparisons, instead let them know that they are loved and worthy,” Chaudhary said.
Mumbai-based psychologist, Gagandeep Bhatti believes that parents should take proactive steps and guide students on the wide career opportunities available to them. “Parents should educate students on aftermaths of studies and extensive scope of careers. Also, help them be motivated and driven with goal rather than pressuring to be ahead in race,” says Bhatti. The highly-charged atmosphere makes students vulnerable. “Simply because of the atmosphere they are introduced to, which is highly placed on the ‘marks’ obtained rather than their ‘talent’. The scenario is that the person’s self-worth is scaled on the result of such exams and thus students are made to believe that these examinations are life defining,” Bhatti added.
Coaching institutes step in
Concerned over the issue, Kota institutes are taking corrective measures, trying to de-stress students and instill positivity in them. Some of the coaching institutes observe Saturday as ‘fun day’, encouraging students to take part in recreational activities such as yoga, meditation, indoor games etc. to relive their stress. Coaching institutes are replacing their billboards with pictures of small children with a tagline of ‘happiness’.
How to handle competitive exams and board exams together?
Students are often at their wit’s end, when it comes to preparing for competitive exams along with board exams. They get tense at the prospect of handling the syllabus of both the exams. “The troika of efficient time-management, customized preparation strategy and careful planning can help students in balancing both board exams as well as competitive entrance tests,” says Chaudhary, which is easier said than done.
The big divide
With a creaking state education system, and at least 5 lakh students competing for 10,000-plus seats in IITs and an equal number vying for around 32,000 medical seats across 400+ colleges, the competition is bound to get tougher. This creates a severe drain on the parents’ finances while putting their children under tremendous stress. But what most parents don’t realize in this scenario is the destructive emotional trail that could take a toll on the careers of their wards. From a social point of view, the divide between those who make it and those who couldn’t is getting wider. The only way out could be to significantly increase the number of higher education institutions, especially in the engineering and medical domains. Could public-private-partnership be the way out?
Stay tuned to www.medicine.careers360.com for more stories on competitive exams
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Questions related to NEET
Ive done my PUC (PCMB) from Karnataka board now Im in BSC ( PHYSICS MATHS COMPUTER SCIENCE) final year am i eligible to write neet ..plz give me authentic information..
Hi
Yes , you are eligible for appearing in NEET 2021 examination even if you are in final year of your BSc with physics chemistry and computer
This is because,
There is no rule which says that if you are doing BSC or any graduation you become ineligible for Neet examination, as to be eligible for neet what all one needs is :
* to must have passed 12th board examination with physics, chemistry ,biology/biotechnology and English and must have got:-
-) at least 50 % in aggregate of PCB i.e Physics, Chemistry and Biology/Biotechnology in 12th examination if belongs to general category
-) at least 40% in aggregate of PCB if belongs to Obc/ Sc /st category
-)at least 45 % in aggregate of PCB in case of general/ews pwd candidates to be eligible.
So , you being pcmb student in your 12th if you fulfill this percentage criteria in PCB with your 12th marks then you are eligible for Neet 2021 examination , even if you are doing BSc and after qualifying Neet examination you can get admission in MBBS on the basis of rank or marks obtained by you in NEET
Also,
there is no upper age limit for Neet examination
For detailed information about neet examination go through our page forl which link is provided below; -
https://medicine.careers360.com/articles/neet-eligibility-criteria
If you have any other doubt then you can always reach us to clear them :) we are always available to help you out and guide you
Thank you
What will be the paper level of NEET in 2021 ??
Hi
This is quite difficult to predict your Neet paper level or difficulty level of Neet examination paper but don't worry it will be more or less similar to previous years Neet question papers according to which your neet 2021 examination is expected to be of moderate level.
But yes,
whether you will find Neet examination easy or difficult depends upon your preparation level . If you prepare well for neet examination then you will find it easier otherwise if your level of preparation is not good then you are bound to find it difficult .
So I suggest you to prepare well for your Neet examination following the below tips so that you don't find the question paper difficult and can score good marks in your neet examination
*Go well through NCERT and master it .
*Make routine or timetable :- your routine should revolve around 3 things i.e study, revise and practice .
*After finishing each chapter you should practice questions, you should practise at least 80 to 100 numericals / mcqs in Each chapter .
*Solve previous year NEET questions.
*Once done with complete syllabus, go through NEET mock test papers
You can prepare well using our neet program for which link is provided below
https://learn.careers360.com/knockout-neet-may /
If you have any other doubt then you can always reach us to clear them :) we are always available to help you out and guide you
Thank you
did the neet registration date ara announced?? also for Kcet??
No the registration dates of neet 2021 have not been released yet. However it is expected that the registration process would start in past week of January. Students are advised to keep an eye on the official website. Same is the case with kcet 2021 registration dates and it is also expected to start in last week of January.
For more info you can visit the following links:
https://medicine.careers360.com/articles/neet-application-form
https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/kcet
my rank is 6202 in neet mds...what colleges can I get in rajasthan?
Hii,
Based on last year cutoff..... according to your rank in NEET MDS 2021 and category you can check the college in which you have possibility of getting a seat in the NEET MDS college predictor link given below
https://medicine.careers360.com/neet-mds-college-predictor
Hope this will help you
Can I get NEET MDS cutoff for General category of private colleges in Maharashtra!
Hello student ,
Please ! Checkout the link given below of carrers360 to know the cut off .
https://medicine.careers360.com/articles/neet-mds-cut-off
Hope it helps !