Following the introduction of NEET examinations in Tamil Nadu, there have been complaints by students from the state board that they are unable to compete with CBSE students. To help the students, the state government is planning to introduce Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics (STEM) based model.
The New Indian Express reported that this model will mainly integrate four subjects based on real world applications.
A meeting has been called on Wednesday by the education department which will include School Education Minister KA Sengottaiyan and Secretary T Udhayachandran.
An education department official told TNIE that this model will help students to understand concepts and provide hands-on training.
“The model requires subject-specific pedagogy. For example, to teach math, one should adopt Concrete Pictorial Abstract (CPA) approach,” as reported by TNIE.
This model was used by 320 schools in the state in the last two years under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) scheme.
After the evaluation, 86% of teachers stated that the students could understand the concepts better.
For students to cope with the entrance exams, the school education department is also planning to bring in board examinations for Class XI as most of the schools focus on Class XII syllabus in Class XI itself. There have been discussions about revamping the syllabus also.
However, when The News Minute spoke to students, they said that it will be too much pressure on the students and instead the education department should focus on ensuring that schools teach the Class XI syllabus.