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No coaching, internet puts Ludhiana Meritorious School students in a fix
Among the students, 282 from the non-medical stream and 90 from medical, are preparing for competitive entrance the JEE and NEET exams in hopes of securing seats in the best engineering and medicine institute
More than 300 Class 12 students enrolled in the sciences streams at the Government Meritorious School find themselves staring at a herculean task of preparing for competitive exams on their, or worst, taking a gap year, amid the absence of promised coaching classes and internet facilities on campus.
Among the students, 282 from the non-medical stream and 90 from medical, are preparing for competitive entrance the JEE and NEET exams in hopes of securing seats in the best engineering and medicine institutes.
The “Meritorious Schools” project, which was initiated by former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, aimed to nurture bright matriculates from government schools and prepare them for admission to top professional courses free of cost.
It is in this backdrop that students rued not receiving any coaching from the Meritorious School Society this year.
The shortfall is attributed to a technical error in the tendering process, which typically involves a two-year contract awarded to private coaching centres to train Meritorious Schools’ students.
Notably, this marks the first time since 2016 that the Meritorious School Ludhiana has failed to secure coaching classes for its students.
The lack of access to internet facilities on campus has put the students at a further disadvantage.
“We worked hard in Class 10 and were enrolled in the Meritorious School with the expectation of receiving the best education facilities. We were promised specialised coaching not only for JEE and NEET, but also for the National Defence Academy and other competitive exams, but that’s not the case. We also encounter numerous daily challenges like the absence on the internet,” a student not wishing to be named said.
“Joining the Meritorious School feels like a mistake. At a regular school, we could have at least accessed the internet and online study material. They lured us with promises of ‘focused coaching’ and much more, but we have been deceived,” another student complained.
Following the Society’s failure to provide coaching facilities, the school has independently sought assistance from a non-governmental organisation (NGO) to fund coaching classes for science students. The classes were suspended in view of monthly exams just 10 days after beginning on November 21.
Students express concerns that the delayed coaching classes will be pushed further because of the winter break, highlighting that the JEE exam is scheduled for January 24, 2024.
The Meritorious Government School has two computer labs with 15-20 computers each, but the 947 students are restricted from using the facilities after school hours. Many rued the lack of free classes to use computers during the sanctioned period.
Addressing the issue, principal Vishwakirat Kahlon said, “Due to some technical glitches, the Meritorious Society could not arrange coaching for science students this year. However, the school, at its own level, has managed to arrange coaching classes for the students.”
“We are also planning to install 5-7 computers in hostels so that students can access the internet for an hour under the supervision of their teachers. As far as phone calls are concerned, we restrict them for security reasons and time management during exams,” Kahlon added.
Issues galore
Students have also complained of the poor living conditions on campus, with a student saying, “We are given mandatory tasks such as cleaning washrooms, hostels, and the school premises on Sundays, with fines imposed if we refuse.”
Students further disclosed that they are prohibited from calling home.
“We are charged ₹2 per minute to call our families, and even then, we do not get a chance to speak with our parents unless we plead with them,” another student said.
In 2022, 11 and 19 students from the Meritorious School Ludhiana cracked the NEET and JEE exams respectively; they were provided online coaching from a Gurdaspur-based coaching institute during Classes 11 and 12.
