The state government is considering changes in the HSC exam pattern from next year so that state board students are not at a disadvantage while appearing for the NEET exam for admission to medical and
The state government is considering changes in the HSC exam pattern from next year so that state board students are not at a disadvantage while appearing for the NEET exam for admission to medical and dental colleges, state education minister Vinod Tawde said on Tuesday.
“Though this year admissions in government colleges will be done on the basis of the state CET, from next year NEET will be compulsory for government as well as private colleges. The NEET will be based on the CBSE syllabus for standard XI and XII. There is not much difference between the syllabus of CBSE and state board. However, the 12th standard exam of CBSE is based on its syllabus for standards XI and XII, which may benefit CBSE students. But in the state board, the HSC exam is based on only standard XII syllabus. Therefore we will consult experts on whether changing the HSC exam pattern to set papers based on two years’ syllabus will prepare state board students better for the NEET,” Mr Tawde said.
The minister also said that not all students appear for the NEET and this will also be considered while taking the decision. For example, this year out of 6 lakh HSC students, less than three lakh appeared for the state CET for medicine.
“We will take a decision that will help NEET aspirants, but will not burden those students who do not even intend to appear for the NEET,” he said. The government is also examining whether providing special training only for NEET aspirants will help.
J.M. Abhyankar, former chairman, Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, said that while the implementation of the CBSE pattern will burden the students not opting for NEET it will not put them at a disadvantage. “The current state board syllabus is almost similar to the CBSE board syllabus and requires around 10-15 per cent changes in the form of deletion and addition of chapters to bring it at par with the CBSE syllabus. The adoption of the CBSE pattern wherein students will have to prepare for the HSC exams based on the class XI and XII syllabus will be steep for the students but the benefits cannot be disputed as the students will be getting life-long learning.”
