The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Shocking

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 08, 2005

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Shocking

The Tamil Nadu Government's decision to abolish the common entrance test for admission to medical and engineering courses is shocking. This will spell doom for the quality of professional education in Tamil Nadu. Learning by rote is going to be glorified further.

Krithika Ganesan,
Chennai

Taking into account the Plus Two marks alone will only encourage youngsters to memorise their textbooks. The common test, besides testing memory, also tested analytical skills. The notion that rural students did not get a fair chance under the system is a myth.

Tony Oliver
North Wales, U.K.

The decision has come as a bolt from the blue. Students spend two years preparing for the test. In one go, their efforts have been rendered a waste. If the claim that a common test had become a traumatic experience for students and parents "as it appears to determine at one stroke the future of the child" is valid, will not school final examinations become equally traumatic in future?

Their marks will form the only basis for admission, with recourse for improvement also having been disallowed.

Mushtaqh Ali,
Chennai

I wrote my XII standard exams this year. The abolition of the TNPCEE has saddened me as it has narrowed my chances of joining a college of my choice. All my efforts to secure 274.78 marks in the entrance exams — my school final marks are not very good — have gone waste.

The Government has been unfair to many like me. If it had taken this decision earlier, it would have caused less hardship to students and parents.

S. Shenbagavalli,
Chennai

A common test ensured that only meritorious students got admission to professional colleges. As far as the Plus Two exams are concerned, it is always easy for students to mug up and score high marks. Instead of abolishing the test, the defects in the TNPCEE could have been rectified.

L. Kalarani,
Madurai, T.N.

The move is likely to adversely affect the standard of higher education. The students of other streams of education such as the CBSE and the ICSE will stand to lose because it is easy to score higher marks under the State Board.

U.S. Iyer,
Bangalore

The decision has raised disturbing questions regarding students who took improvement exams this year and those who chose the CBSE pattern. Ranking students is also going to be an onerous task, considering the fact that there are hundreds of centum holders in each of the science subjects.

S. Mathu Shalini,
Chennai

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion

News Update

Stories in this Section

The energy route to peace

The map policy redrawn

After L.K. Advani's yatra to Pakistan

Entrance tests — boon or bane?

Jinnah and Savarkar

Advani's resignation

Shocking