Karnataka likely to partner with Mumbai-based institute to provide free JEE, NEET coaching for 25K students

The move is welcomed by parents and students who cannot afford private coaching centers, which charge hefty fees, especially in rural areas. Many students feel that competitive examinations are tailored for urban, affluent students.

The Karnataka government has decided to collaborate with a Mumbai-based institute to provide free online coaching to 25,000 science students in government pre-university (PU) colleges, to help them prepare for competitive exams.

According to sources, four firms — PACE, Sinhal Online, Gainups Ventures, and K-nomics — participated in the tender floated by the Karnataka government’s  Department of Pre-University Education to select an institute that will help students prepare for competitive exams such as KCET (Karnataka Common Entrance Test), JEE (Joint Entrance Examination), and NEET (National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test).

"Mumbai-based PACE IIT & Medical (iitianspace.com), which quoted Rs 6.8 crore, has emerged as the lowest bidder for live, online coaching classes for KCET, JEE, and NEET for government PU college students for 2024-25 and 2025-26. The Letter of Acceptance (LoA) will be issued shortly," a source familiar with the developments told Moneycontrol.

The move was welcomed by parents and students — especially in rural areas —  who cannot afford private coaching centres which charge hefty fees. Many students feel that competitive exams are tailored for urban and affluent students.

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The Department of Pre-University Education plans to cover 25,000 students across 674 PU colleges, and a budget of Rs 12.5 crore has been allocated for the project, which is expected to begin in November 2024.

PACE will deploy qualified professionals to coach both first and second year PU students over two years (2024-25 and 2025-26). The firm will conduct a test to shortlist 25,000 students, and will also set up an online attendance system to ensure real-time tracking of student participation.

As part of the programme, PACE will conduct weekly tests, with results uploaded to a dashboard. Classes will be conducted in both Kannada and English, and students are also expected to get hard copies of the  study material. A total of 400 hours of training, including a crash course before the exams, will be spread across 200 days of instruction.

The project was announced in the 2024-25 budget. Sindhu B Rupesh, Director of the Department of Pre-University Education, told Moneycontrol: "This is the first time live, online  coaching classes are being implemented at this scale in PU colleges. Currently, only residential schools run by minority and social welfare departments offer such coaching."

Rupesh said they plan to hold these  classes before and after college hours. "We have over 80,000 students, from which  we will select 25,000 (50 percent from the first year, and 50 percent from the second year) through a qualifying test. Based on the response, we may extend the programme to more students in future," she added.

Rupesh acknowledged some challenges as well: "In rural areas, for instance, we need to adjust bus timings so that students can attend online sessions at their colleges before and after their classes. We also need to equip classrooms to hold these classes. The  initiative will especially benefit rural students who cannot afford private coaching for competitive exams," she said, and added that the LoA is expected to be issued in a few days. "We are planning to commence the programme in November 2024."

PACE will also implement a feedback system using a GPS-enabled mobile app, allowing teachers to gather and submit student feedback for quality improvement. Weekly online tests will be conducted via mobile apps, with scores shared with students, teachers, and principals. Additionally, district and head office officials will have access to performance statistics through their dashboards.

In 2020, the state launched a free online crash course, GetCETGo, to help students prepare for CET and NEET during the Covid lockdown. However, this programme was later discontinued.

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