The RBSE proposal for an aptitude test has raised a lot of eyebrows among different players in the engineering education field. The first part of this series threw light on the dilemma of professors and students regarding the issue. In this part, we bring another important aspect into picture, namely – the coaching institutes in Rajasthan.

Students and professors fear that an additional test will not
just increase student stress but also give an impetus to the hegemony of
coaching institutes in Rajasthan. This is contrary to the efforts of HRD
Minister Smriti Irani who aims to lessen the dependence of students on coaching
institutes (source). Deepa Purohit, a secondary teacher at Vidya Niketan School,
Rajasthan says, “Due to peer and parental pressure, students will resort to
more tuitions in an attempt to ace the exam.”

Besides, students themselves are exhausted with the mundane life
within the coaching class walls. Yash Tailor, a student in RBSE class IX, says,
“More tests means more time spent in classes. We don’t need any more milestones
to become an engineer.” Parents have also ridiculed the state’s decision to
judge a student worthy of choosing a stream. “It’s not just about engineering; choosing
science could mean the student can make a career in any related field,” says a
parent of a class 10th student.

On the other hand, coaching classes in Rajasthan are not
completely against the move. Some of them have deemed the initiative fruitful.
Pramod Maheshwari, MD and CEO, Career Point Classes, Kota says, “It’s a good
idea to identify who is capable of doing science. In this way, students won’t
rush towards taking science due to peer pressure but will make an informed
decision. Dependence on coaching will increase if the test is difficult or cut-off
driven.”

However,
what about students who may have the calibre for science but are not interested
in the field? The test results could also misguide students’ career decisions. “The
test should be designed in a way to not just identify the students’ capacity
but also their inclination towards the subject,” says Maheshwari.

RBSE is yet
to set up a committee to discuss the parameters of the test and what exactly do
they aim to derive through it. However, setting up a question paper that tests
students on various parameters suggests a considerable amount of difficulty
level in the exam. Students are worried that as this test takes shape, coaching
institutes will master tricks to crack the exam. So is this test truly for the
larger benefit of students? This can only be understood after a few years once
the aptitude test and its results have been analysed.

You can read Part 1 of this series here.