New Delhi: For many students taking NEET and JEE, which require intensive coaching, the race begins not in the examination hall but in the coaching classroom – and access to it often depends on where they live and what their families can afford. The Centre is now designing its free coaching network around this gap, taking up the two high-stakes entrance tests first and prioritising students from economically weaker families and areas with limited access to quality coaching.Govt sources said youth-related announcements made by PM Modi in his Independence Day address will be accorded top priority, with some initiatives expected to be rolled out as early as Oct 2. The free coaching programme is among the measures for which ministries have begun preparing the implementation framework.A blueprint has been prepared for the technology and AI-enabled learning platform, which will be jointly developed by ministries of electronics and information technology (MeitY), skill development and education. MeitY and the skill development ministry will build the platform, while the education ministry will provide academic support by pooling teaching resources from schools, universities and other institutions.
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Officials said the framework will not be confined to online classes. It will have provisions for including in later stages offline/computer-based access for areas where internet connectivity is weak.The network is expected to later cover university entrance tests and recruitment examinations. Officials said the objective is to reduce the gap between students who can afford coaching and those who depend on schools, self-study or local options. In his I-Day speech, Modi had linked the initiative to the financial pressure private coaching puts on families. “A huge burden has been placed upon middle-class families. There is competition around coaching classes. Every parent feels that if the child is not sent to a coaching class, they are not from a prestigious family.”
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