Pune: Demand Raised For BARTI To Launch Free NET/SET Coaching For Scheduled Caste Students

Pune: Student leader Akshay Kamble has urged the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Research and Training Institute (BARTI) to immediately introduce a dedicated free coaching programme for the NET/SET examinations for students from the Scheduled Caste (SC) category. In a representation submitted to the Director General of BARTI, he said the initiative is essential to ensure equal opportunities in higher education and help SC students pursue careers as assistant professors and researchers.

Kamble pointed out that while students from the Maratha community receive free NET/SET coaching through SARTHI and Other Backwards Classes (OBC) students benefit from similar programmes under MahaJyoti, no such facility is available through BARTI for Scheduled Caste students. As a result, thousands of aspiring candidates are being deprived of an important academic opportunity, which he said runs contrary to the principles of social justice and equal opportunity.

The NET/SET examination is a key eligibility test for recruitment as assistant professors in universities and colleges and also serves as a gateway to research careers. However, many students from rural, economically weaker and marginalised backgrounds are unable to afford expensive private coaching, limiting their chances of success and widening inequalities in higher education.

According to Kamble, a dedicated BARTI coaching programme would provide quality guidance, study material, expert faculty, mock tests and a competitive learning environment. This would improve the success rate of Scheduled Caste students in NET/SET examinations and strengthen their representation in higher education and academia.

He said the proposed scheme would particularly benefit economically disadvantaged students by offering quality coaching at no cost. It would also reduce the dependence of rural students on coaching centres in major cities, encourage greater participation in research and higher education, and increase the number of qualified Scheduled Caste faculty members in universities and colleges.

The initiative, he added, would further the objectives of social justice, educational inclusion and a knowledge-based society.

While the state government has introduced several welfare schemes for the educational advancement of Scheduled Caste students, Kamble said the absence of a free NET/SET coaching programme remains a significant gap. He urged the state government and the BARTI administration to take an immediate decision, allocate the necessary funds and roll out the scheme for eligible students across Maharashtra.

Students have also expressed the view that launching a free NET/SET coaching programme through BARTI has become the need of the hour to enhance the participation of Scheduled Caste students in higher education and ensure the effective implementation of the principles of social justice.