The Tripura government has decided to sponsor extra classes of math and science to Class IX students beyond school hours.
This has been decided to encourage students to pursue basic science in higher studies.
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Tripura education minister Ratan Lal Nath said, “It has been observed that in the past three years, only 11 per cent students passing matriculation opted for science stream in higher secondary.”
“The fall of future scope in technical education in India has triggered this drastic drop,” Nath added.
“The parents mainly admit their children in science stream at Class XI to make him either an engineer or a doctor,” Nath said.
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“With the rise in demand for specialization in both engineering and medical, the scope of employment for the simple engineering or medical graduate has got limited,” Nath reiterated.
“This, I feel, is one reason for the decrease in the percentage of students getting admitted to science. The fear of math and science is another,” Nath said.
“We must disseminate information among the students and guardians and guide them in pursuing science subjects,” Nath added.
“We have chosen Class IX for providing extra coaching to the students identifying a benchmark based on the registration of students applied for the National Talent Search Exam (NTSE),” Nath added.
The government will pay Rs 500 per month for each of the students for at least 15 months.
The schools for the extra class will be selected by the students and guardians.
The teachers would also be paid Rs 500 per hour extra maximum of four hours every week.
The government has earmarked Rs 2.19 Cr annually for implementing the project targeting about 5000 students.
In 2018 over 32000 students were admitted in Class XI and only 3600 opted for science stream.
“This reflects a dismal face of education in the state,” Nath said.