CHENNAI: For the first time, the school education department is organising a state-level residential training programme for 300 government school students across Tamil Nadu to prepare them for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE-Mains). The training will be held from December 24 to January 18 in Cuddalore district.

The students have been selected from the newly created Vetri (Vibrant Education Targeting Reputed Institutions) Palligal, a school education department initiative aimed at expanding access to academic support for government school students preparing for competitive examinations.

Implemented in existing government higher secondary schools, a key feature of the Vetri Palligal scheme is the conduct of weekend support classes for students of classes XI and XII, where interested students receive coaching for examinations such as JEE, NEET, CLAT, CUET and IPMAT.

District model schools function as academic hubs, providing study material, career guidance and academic support to these centres. While the government had announced plans to establish 414 Vetri Palligal, 272 centres set up in the first phase are currently functioning across the state, offering weekend coaching classes.

Sources in the school education department said that earlier, the majority of students who attended residential coaching programmes were drawn from model schools. “Now, students who have been consistently attending weekend classes and performing well have been selected for the training.

This is the first time we are conducting a state-level residential programme specifically for the JEE-Main examination,” an official said. The students will receive training from specialised subject teachers who have expertise in coaching for competitive examinations and will be given online tests apart from guidance from former students.