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More and more colleges providing integrated courses, say experts

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Competitive exams are the new flavour and are only gaining in popularity among students. And looking at his heightened increase and demand among students for such exams, most city colleges it seems are offering integrated courses, irrespective of the fact that the state education department disallows such a practice.

With many students starting their preparation for competitive exams in their first year of junior college itself, colleges offering integrated courses are doing so with the help of experts from coaching institutes. According to an expert, there could be 100 junior colleges imparting integrated courses to 5,000-6,000 students.

Also, top-scorers prefer to take admission in colleges run by coaching institutes to avail IIT-JEE training in the college itself. An example of this could be Pace junior college run by coaching institute IITians Pace. However, the institute's managing director, Praveen Tyagi, refutes it.

"Students think they will get an integrated course in our junior college itself, but it's not like that. They are taking admission in our college because our institute, which provides coaching for competitive exams, is right next to the college."

"Our college provides purely academic quality course... We stopped providing integrated courses to other colleges after setting up our own junior colleges. While there are 2,000 seats for junior college as per government rule, we have received 10,000 applications till now," Tyagi added.

Managing director of another coaching institute, Sinhal Classes, however, said they plan to set up their own junior colleges to provide integrated courses. "Looking at the demand, we too are starting our own junior colleges soon, where our students can be prepared for competitive exams. We are giving integrated courses to 13 city colleges. As colleges don't have expertise in competitive exam coaching, this kind of private-public partnership benefits students, who are spared from going to coaching classes separately," said Sudhanshu Sinhal.

Admission manager of another coaching institution, FIIT-JEE, Prashant Kumar said, "We too provide integrated courses to students in five to six city colleges. A student taking an integrated course in his/her college itself has higher chances of topping the exams than one who goes to college as well as a coaching institute, which could be far from the college."

While colleges themselves refused to open up about whether they offered integrated courses, education experts were critical of the practice.

Anil Deshmukh, professor of Sathe college and general secretary of Maharashtra Junior College Teachers' Union, said, "Students should not be given integrated courses by colleges because then they don't concentrate on their practical and academic studies."

Another principal from a western suburb college said, "A few years back, we gave integrated courses to our students, but it was only for a year. It's true that it helps them to prepare for competitive exams, but it is an unhealthy practice... students don't attend practical sessions or college lectures and don't concentrate on their junior college academics, which are equally important."

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