Tamil Nadu Teachers and School Protection Association (TNTSPA) urged the district school education department to give special coaching to Class 8 students to crack the National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship (NMMS) examination from the beginning of the academic year.

Association President R Ramakumar told The New Indian Express that fewer than 300 out of 6,000 students in Coimbatore cleared this scholarship exam.

"The NMMS exam for Class 8 students was conducted in February. It was alleged that teachers did not provide proper training for the NMMS to students. Additionally, many students failed to apply for the examination because some headmasters did not pass on information about it," he recalled.

He requested that school education department to start to give special coaching classes to the students from this month. A science teacher from a government school in Coimbatore told The New Indian Express, "Many students struggle to write the Scholastic Assessment Test questions which demand higher-order thinking in NMMS. Students find it difficult to attain passing marks in the exam."

"Instead of memorising, students should try to understand the concepts in the portions and teachers should conduct mock tests frequently and teach techniques. It will be helpful to crack the test. So, a proper coaching is needed to students from the beginning of the academic year," he said.

When asked about it, an educational officer told The New Indian Express that they would start the classes soon and the process is underway.